When the War is Over
by zefron-zefroff
Summary: What will happen between Harry and Ginny? Will their relationship pick up where it left off, or are they just not meant for each other? Begins right after chapter 36 in Deathly Hallows *Author previously named HuskerChick*
1. After the War

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I __don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my own __characters._

_Takes place right after chapter 36 in Deathly Hallows_

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way down the spiral staircase leading to the headmaster's, now headmistresses, office. Harry felt as though he were about to collapse from exhaustion. Imagine that, the boy-who-lived, who survived the killing curse twice, and defeated Lord Voldemort for good, couldn't even walk down a staircase without collapsing.

"I think that I'm gonna go to the dormitories and go to sleep," Harry told Ron and Hermione as they made their way to the Great Hall.

"That's probably not a bad idea, but I think I'll go see if mum's all right," said Ron.

"Oh, and tell your mum where I am, so she doesn't worry too much," said Harry. Thinking about Mrs. Weasly sending out a search party for the missing Chosen One, made him smile.

"What's so funny?" asked a puzzled Hermione.

"Nothing." Harry quickly wiped his smile off his face, before anymore questioning came. "See you."

"Bye," Ron and Hermione said in unison, before departing down the corridor.

This was the first time that Harry had been left alone sense he went to the forest to meet Voldemort. But Harry quickly pushed that thought away from his mind. That had been one of the worst moments in his life, and he didn't want to relive it.

Harry made his way down the familiar corridors of Hogwarts, thinking about the times that he had walked these halls with Ron and Hermione. Then he always had the looming thought of Lord Voldemort coming to power, or one of the Death Eaters invading Hogwarts. But now none of those things were a threat anymore, with Voldemort dead and the Death Eaters all cowering, for their leader was gone for good. It was only a matter of time before all of them were gone or in Azkaban, and the world would be free of all Voldemort followers.

"Password … oh, it's you, Harry. You don't need the password, dear," said the Fat Lady.

Harry hadn't even realized that he reached the portrait hole. He had walked the halls so many times, he knew the route by heart, apparently.

"Thanks," said Harry.

"No problem, Harry."

Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room. It was empty. And you wouldn't even be able to tell that a war had just been fought in another part of the school had he not been there.

Harry made his way up the stairs to the dormitories. He made his way to what should have been his bed, and collapsed on the spot. He didn't even bother to undress. The minute that his head hit the pillow, he had drifted off into a deep sleep.

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_A/N: Hey! What do you guys think? Please rate and review! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! And I'll try to make the other ones longer. Thanks!_


	2. Reunions

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I __don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my own __characters._Harry awoke to sunlight streaming in through the cracks in the curtains. He heard voices talking in a hushed tone near his bedside.

* * *

"Do you think we should wake him?" asked a deep voice. Harry determined that the voice must belong to Ron.

"No, Ronald. Let Harry rest. He's had a very tough past few hours." The other voice must have belonged to Hermione, due to the way that she spoke to Ron.

"He's been asleep 48 hours all ready, how much more sleep could a person need?"

_Had I really been asleep for 48 hours? _Harry thought. But his thoughts were interrupted by Hermione speaking.

"Ron, if you had just defeated Lord Voldemort, would you want to be woken up?"

"No," said a sheepish Ron.

_There's the old Hermione. Always right about everything._

Harry must have chuckled out loud, because suddenly his curtains flew open to reveal an embarrassed looking Hermione and an expressionless Ron.

"Well, glad that you're up, now I don't have to wake you!" exclaimed Ron.

Hermione just glared at Ron, trying to get the message to him that this was not the time and place to gloat about things. But clearly by Ron's face, the message had not been received.

"Oh, Harry! You must have really been exhausted! It's very unnatural to sleep that long. You must be hungry, would you like for us to leave you to get ready, and then go down to the Great Hall to eat?" Hermione was clearly concerned.

"I don't know, Hermione. I don't think that I'm ready to face everyone yet. I might just have Kreacher bring me up a couple of sandwiches for me to eat here. You know, away from everyone else."

"I guess you're right, Harry. That might be better than being mobbed by people in the Great Hall," said Hermione. "But I think that I am going to go to the Hall, and leave you to be alone. Come on Ron!"

"But!" protested Ron. But, after seeing Hermione's look, he decided to save it. "See ya around, Harry."

After they left, Harry called for Kreatcher.

"Yes, master? What does master require of Kreatcher?" asked Kreatcher.

"Please bring up some sandwiches and pumpkin juice."

"Yes, master." Kreatcher disappeared with a _CRACK._

Harry was once again left alone with his thoughts. He decided to let his mind wander. Harry began to think about the Elder Wand. _How was I to open Dumbledore's tomb? Was I to do it as Voldemort had? By forcing it open? And what would ensure that nobody was going to steal it again? _As he pondered on these questions, another thought came to mind. _How could I face the Weasley's? After causing the death of a son, and brother? Would they forgive and forget? Would I be able to forgive and forget? _Then he thought of Ginny. _Oh, Ginny. Would she still love me, even after I had caused the death of her brother? Would she take me back, after what I've did to her? After I'd left her, to go hunt the Horcruxes for a year?_

Harry was interrupted by the _CRACK _of Kreatcher appearing with a tray of food and drinks. He was also carrying a pair of clothes for Harry to change into.

"Here you are, master Harry. Mistress Hermione sent me up with a pair of clothes for you, sir. Insisted that you change." _Of course, _Harry thought, _Hermione was thinking of Harry. _Harry smiled once more.

"If that is all, master, I must be leaving you," Kreatcher said.

"Yes, Kreatcher. You are free to leave. Thank you."

Kreatcher disappeared with a _CRACK. _Harry ate slowly, enjoying every bite. It had been about a year sense he had ate a decent meal. Once he had finished every last drop of pumpkin juice, and all of the sandwiches, Harry left to shower.

Once in the shower, Harry did a head count on all of his new cuts, scars and bruises that he had gotten in the last year. He was most startled by the bruise the size of a dinner platter on his chest. _Probably where Voldemort hit me with the killing curse, _Harry thought. He didn't have anything too severe, but he still decided to have Madam Pomfrey see if he was ok. Harry quickly finished his shower, got dressed, and exited into the common room to see if Ron and Hermione were there.

Unfortunately, they weren't in the common room, and Harry suspected it was because Ron couldn't wait for Harry to eat. But that was typical Ron, always hungry, and never being able to wait for the food.

So, Harry set out for the Great Hall, but not to eat. He walked the corridors, remembering walking them as a student. It seemed as though it was a century ago, when in fact, it was merely a year ago that he was at Dumbledore's funeral.

The funeral brought up so many bad memories for Harry. Deciding to never come back to Hogwarts, to leave on the Horcrux hunt with Ron and Hermione, and having to break up with Ginny.

Thinking of that, Harry missed Ginny more than ever. He needed her, but all he could think was that she wouldn't take him back.

As Harry entered the Great Hall, everything grew silent. Then, pandemonium broke out with screams of praise for Harry and his deeds. He felt so overwhelmed, but all he was looking for was a certain red-haired witch and her family. He spotted them in only a matter of seconds. And Ginny spotted him as well. She jumped out of her seat at the sight of him. She stared at him for what seemed like hours, and he stared back, drinking in the sight of her. Her beautiful, red hair, her deep brown eyes…

Then, she began running towards him. Tears prickling her eyes, she was sprinting at Harry. Then she jumped into his arms. She began to sob into his shoulder. Harry realized that the whole room was silently watching them. But he didn't care. The only thing he cared for now was that Ginny was here, in his arms.

Suddenly, Ginny broke away from him. She just stared into his green eyes, and Harry was waiting for her to speak. But not only did she speak, she screamed.

"Harry James Potter! How dare you! You leave me, broken hearted, and in the dark for a YEAR! You just leave! You leave me for a year with the Carrows and Snape, not knowing a THING about your whereabouts! For all I knew, you could be DEAD! Along with Ron and Hermione, and I wouldn't know a thing!" Ginny was yelling at Harry, oblivious to everyone's stares.

"And then you come back! You go and disappear, me once AGAIN not knowing where you were! Then we go outside to find you DEAD!" Ginny was nearing hysteria now. "Do you know how it feels, _Harry, _to have the love of your life DEAD AT YOUR FEET? Do you Harry? To have your world crashing down before you? Voldemort had KILLED YOU! But _of course _you were NOT DEAD! You were faking it! But the scare you gave me was NOT FAKE! I was crushed, no, I was far beyond crushed! And now you come BACK! And you think that everything's OK? Well it's NOT Mr. Potter, it's NOT!" Ginny had tears streaming down her face, and she was shaking from her sobs. All Harry wanted to do was comfort her. He realized that nothing was ok. Didn't she realize that?

But before he even had the chance to say 'sorry,' Ginny had pushed past him, and was running out of the Hall. Harry just stood there bewildered, as with the rest of the hall. Harry probably could have stood there all day, had Hermione ran up to him to pull him back to the rest of the family.

"You all right, Harry?" Hermione asked. She probably knew why Ginny was upset, her being her best friend. But Harry didn't have the sense to ask her about it.

"What just happened?" asked a bewildered Harry.

"I don't think Ginny is gonna take you back that easily, mate," said Ron, with a slight trace of humor in his voice, and a small smile on his face. But after seeing the look on Harry's face shut him up quickly.

"I don't think I'm that hungry anymore. I'll be leaving you now," said Harry.

He was going to win Ginny back, and he would do whatever it takes to make her love him again.

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_A/N: Sorry that these ones have been kind of short, I've been busy. But I'll try to make them longer. Please Rate and Review! I'll try to post as soon as possible! Read on!_


	3. Ideas

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I __don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my own __characters.__Ginny's Point of View_

* * *

Ginny had just run screaming out of the Great Hall. _There goes my chance of ever having Harry love me. _She thought that she had run out of tears, but a fresh batch welled up in her eyes. She didn't realize where she was going until she reached the top of the Astronomy Tower. She couldn't take any more of any of this. She sat down and burst into tears.

She cried for everything that mattered. She cried for Fred, the brother that wouldn't be coming home. She cried for Remus and Tonks, who were gone for good. She cried for their son, Teddy. He would have to grow up never knowing his parents. _Just like Harry, _Ginny thought. This brought up even worse tears than before. Harry, who was even closer than ever before, was now farther away than ever, because she was acting on impulse. She was not willing to talk it over with Harry, and now she would never get the chance.

_He probably hates me now. Everything I wanted for the last year, Harry to be alive and still love me, us to have won the war, being able to live without fear for our lives. It was all here, but now, it won't be the same without Harry at my side. _

Ginny cried herself to sleep, wallowing in her self-pity.

_Harry's Point of View_

Harry was lying in the four-poster bed in the dormitories, thinking to himself. _How could I have been so STUPID? Thinking that Ginny would want me back after what I've done? Of course she didn't want me, all she wanted was to yell at me, to tell me what I've done wrong. Then leave me. _Harry lied there all night, thinking of Ginny.

He didn't sleep at all that night. He was lying awake in his bed when the first rays of light peaked over the mountains.

Harry decided to get out of bed now, considering that the odds of him getting sleep now were very slim.

After showering and putting on a fresh pair of clothes, Harry made his way down to the common room to find Mrs. Weasly in a panic.

"What's the matter, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Harry.

"Why, Harry. You wouldn't happen to know where Ginny is, would you? After she left the Great Hall, she disappeared. We haven't seen her sense. I don't know if she's all right, or anything! My baby's missing!" wailed Mrs. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley, but I'm afraid that I've seen as much of Ginny as you have." This news was frightening Harry. _Where was she? Was she ok? _Harry was going through a list of worst case scenarios on what might have happened to Ginny. All he could think that happened was that an escaped Death Eater had taken her.

Just as Harry was ready to run out of the room with a search party for Ginny, Hermione ran in holding on to Ginny's arm.

"I found her! She's ok!" yelled Hermione.

"Thank Merlin, Hermione. And Ginny, where have you been! Going around giving me a heart failure!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm so sorry, mum. I fell asleep on top of the Astronomy Tower, I guess." explained Ginny.

A rush of relief swept over Harry. Even though Ginny would refuse to take Harry back, Harry still cared for Ginny. He loved her to the moon and back, even if she would never love him back. All he wanted was for her to be safe.

Mrs. Weasley had Ginny in one of her signature hugs, while everyone else stood around them. They were clearly pleased that Ginny was back, but most were wondering why she had ran off to the Astronomy Tower in the first place.

Harry couldn't stand seeing her in distress, but not being able to do anything about it. He bolted for the portrait hole before he broke down crying.

"Harry, dear. We are port-keying to the Burrow at two o'clock! Don't miss it!" said Mrs. Weasly as Harry left.

Harry jogged down the corridors, looking for one room in particular. When he found it, he opened the door and disappeared into it.

The Room of Requirement seemed to have repaired some of itself between now and the time that Crabbe had set fire to it. Harry sat down on an armchair, and finally broke down. He cried tears for everyone who had been lost, who had sacrificed themselves for a better tomorrow. He cried tears for Teddy Lupin, the baby who would never know what great people his parents were.

Harry sat there for hours, crying his eyes out. He probably would have missed the portkey had Ron not come running in yelling at him to get his sorry butt outside and to the portkey before they both missed it.

They both sprinted down the corridors, counting down the minutes until they would miss their portkey.

Fortunately, they both made it with one minute to spare. They were panting for breath, sweating like pigs, but they were present when the portkey took off.

The Burrow look like nobody had touched it for ages, which means the wards held up all right for the past year. But it was still a very sad day.

Everyone was still mourning the death of Fred, Remus and Tonks.

Ginny was avoiding Harry as much as possible, which broke Harry's heart into a thousand pieces.

George hadn't left his room sense they got home.

Percy and Charlie had been crying every ten minutes.

Bill and Fleur were back at Shell Cottage, which greatly disappointed Mrs. Weasley greatly. But lately, Mrs. Weasley was upset with every little thing lately. She would burst into tears when she came across something that had belonged to Fred. It would take hours of Mr. Weasley's comforting words to make the tears cease.

_Ginny's Point of View_

_This is ridiculous! I've been avoiding Harry for two days, and I'm miserable. Why did I listen to my mind, and not my heart? I should just go and apologize, to get it over with. _

But before Ginny could leave, Hermione walked through the door.

"Ginny, you at least have to _talk_ to Harry. You can't spend your life avoiding him. You and I both know that you are missing him terribly," said Hermione.

"No, Hermione. If you must know, I am better off without Harry," Ginny lied. _How is Hermione so smart?_ thought Ginny.

"I'm not just book-smart, for your information, Ginny."

"I very well know that, Hermione."

"But, all joking aside, I know how miserable you are. You are my best friend, Ginny, I know when something's up, so don't even _try_ to tell me otherwise."

"Oh, all right. I miss Harry terribly, happy?"

"No, not really."

"I've blown it with Harry, I'm such a git!"

"Don't say that, Ginny. You know that you're not a git. You may act before thinking, but that doesn't make you a git."

Ginny didn't say anything for some time.

"You know, Harry misses you to."

Those words made Ginny's heart skip a beat. _Maybe Harry might take me back!_ she thought.

But before Ginny could question her any more, Hermione stood up to leave.

"Just think about it," she said. She closed the door behind her as she left.

_Maybe Hermione was right. It would make _two _people happier, and we could use a few more of those people in the world._

Ginny stayed in her room for the rest of the night. All she could do was think about were ways to apologize to Harry in a way that he couldn't say no.

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she must have, because she didn't remember being in her room.

She threw on her royal blue dressing gown and made her way downstairs. She entered the kitchen to find a solemn-looking Mrs. Weasley and a drowsy Percy.

"What are you doing up, mum?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I was about to ask you the same question, honey." replied Mrs. Weasley. "Oh, and Percy was just about to help me with breakfast."

"I was? Oh, I _was_," said Percy, standing up.

Ginny could tell that this was news to him, and she couldn't help but smile.

She could tell that her mum had been crying, for her eyes were blood-shot and puffy. She felt a pang of sorrow for her mum. Ginny had lost a brother, but her mother had given birth to Fred. It must have been harder to loose a son than a brother.

Not long after Ginny had come down, the rest of the family minus Bill began to file into the kitchen. Hermione was to leave that day to go and locate her parents, who were currently under a memory charm in Australia, so she was probably upstairs packing. The only person missing was Harry, Ginny noted. _Where has he disappeared to now? _Ginny thought. _How am I to win him back, if he's not even here?_

_Harry's Point of View_

Hidden away in the apple orchard by the Burrow, lay Harry. He had been there sense sunrise. All he wanted was to get away from everyone. He needed some time to himself, to organize his thoughts. _I need to get myself a pensive like Dumbledore's,_ he thought.

The top thing on Harry's mind was how to win Ginny back.

During the past 24 hours, Harry had come up with a few ideas, but none that were brilliant. He had yet to come up with the million-dollar idea.

Just as the sun began to reach it's highest point in the sky, the idea hit him.

Harry stood up, and walked towards the Burrow for lunch, knowing exactly how to win Ginny back.

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_A/N: ¡Hola! Today I'm feeling very Spanish. I'm trying to put up as many stories as I can now, because I'm not gonna be able to post for a while. ¡As always, please Rate & Review! ¡Adios!_

_Oh, and I'm gonna try to make the next one have more than 3,000 words! _

_And I might be able to make it get published faster if people rated & reviewed, just saying._


	4. Snape and the Memorial

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I _

_don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

_Oh, and by the way, if it doesn't already say what point of view it is, it is automatically Harry's point of view. Just thought that I'd let you know._

* * *

Harry had gone to sleep that night happy, which hadn't been a common occurrence sense Harry had fled from the Burrow during Bill and Fleur's wedding so long ago.

Harry was feeling anxious about the following day. He had planned everything, but he still had butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. _What if she said no? What would I say then? I feel so incomplete without Ginny, what if my better half didn't want me like I wanted them? _It was a little past midnight before Harry had fallen into a light sleep.

_Harry was walking down the dark path._ It looks so familiar, Harry thought. _Ahead of him, he saw a girl with flaming red hair. _Ginny. _Harry began sprinting towards her, when he realized where he was. _The Chamber of Secrets. _When Harry reached Ginny, he bent down to see if she was alive. She was white as a sheet, and not moving. _

"_Hello, Harry," said an unknown voice._

_Harry looked up to see Lord Voldemort standing over them, smiling._

"_Tom? What are you doing here?" asked a bewildered Harry._

"_Seeing you, of course," Tom replied._

"_But-But-How?" Harry was so confused and nervous that he couldn't even string together a sentence. But what brought Harry back to reality was the fact that Ginny lay below him in an unconscious state._

"_What'd you do to her?" asked Harry, who was getting nervous. _

"_Why, she was bait for you, of course," replied Voldemort._

"_Bait?"_

"_Yes, but now that she has served her purpose, what to do with her?"_

"_Don't hurt her!"_

"_Don't hurt her? Why, I wasn't going to hurt her, I was going to kill her!"_

"_NOOOO!!!!!" screamed Harry._

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

"_Ginny!"_

Harry awoke, covered in a cold sweat. He couldn't take it anymore. He knew it was just a dream, more like a nightmare, and that Lord Voldemort was now truly dead, but it was still frightening. He had to fix things, now.

Harry jumped out of bed, not even bothering to get dressed. He bolted out the door, ran down the many flights of stairs, not stopping until he reached Ginny's room.

He pulled her door open with extreme force. Ginny woke with a start from the noise.

"_Harry?_"asked a startled Ginny. _What's he doing here? _she thought.

"Ginny, I can't take it any more. I am heartbroken and incomplete without you by my side. Will you please take me back?" asked Harry.

"What?" Ginny was confused. _Oh My Gosh. He's asking to take me back!!!_

"Yes or No?"

"Harry James Potter, I have waited for you to say that sense I ran out of the Great Hall," Ginny said with excitement.

She jumped out of her bed and into Harry's waiting arms. They just stood there, in each others arms, for a while, enjoying each other's presence.

"Harry?" asked Ginny, breaking the silence.

"What is it, Ginny?" Harry responded, slightly worried.

"What made you want me back?" questioned Ginny.

"Well…er…" The question made Harry uncomfortable. It's not like he didn't want to tell her, because he did, but he didn't know the right words to phrase it in. "Well," he continued, "I had a…er…nightmare… that Voldemort had… k-k-killed you. And, well, the thought of it...well…made me scared. I couldn't stand being away from you, Ginny. I needed you back in my arms. When I kissed you in the common room, I…well…felt complete. And when you were away, it felt like half of me was missing."

"Oh, Harry." Ginny felt touched, that Harry felt that way for her. "I'm so sorry that I yelled at you like I did. I was just happy that you were back, and alive. But I was also sad that you had left me. I over-reacted, and I didn't think about the consequences of my actions, that I would be pushing you away."

"Ginny Weasley, I promise you, that I will never leave you willingly ever," said Harry.

Instead of responding with words, Ginny kissed Harry. She tried to put all of her feelings for Harry, how sorry she was, how much she loved him, and how happy that she was to be with him again, into that kiss.

They stayed in each others arm kissing, for, what seemed like to Harry, several hours.

When they broke apart, all they could do was smile at each other.

"You know, my last thought before Voldemort hit me with the killing curse was of you, Ginny." said Harry.

After Harry said that, Ginny had tears in her deep brown eyes.

"What is it, Ginny?" asked Harry, who was concerned.

"Nothing, I'm just so touched."

"I love you, Ginny."

"And I love you, too."

They stayed with each other until about 3 o'clock, just standing in a comfortable silence.

"I think you need to go to bed, Ginny," said Harry as Ginny yawned.

"Maybe you're right. I'll see you in the morning. Good night," said Ginny, crawling under the covers.

Harry kissed her on the forehead, saying "Goodnight, Ginny."

The minute that Ginny's head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep and pleasant slumber.

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning extremely overjoyed. Until, that is, he remembered what day it was.

That day, was when a majority of the fallen heroes funerals. The thought of having to burry Fred, Remus, Tonks, and many others, for good sent chills down Harry's spine.

Harry heard Ron shifting in his bed next door. Being careful not to wake him, Harry stood up, grabbed a clean pair of clothes, and tip-toed down the few flights of stairs that lead to the bathroom.

When he was ready, Harry went to the kitchen for some breakfast. Once in there, Harry saw a mournful-looking Mrs. Weasley, a Mr. Weasley who was desperately trying to comfort his wife, Bill and Fleur, who had arrived that morning, and a solemn Percy. Charlie had yet to arrive from Romania, and George, Ron and Ginny were upstairs, either still sleeping or getting ready. But Harry doubted that George would be entering the kitchen any time soon.

The breakfast on the table was simple, for Mrs. Weasley was in no state able to cook, so Fleur had done it, but only half-heartedly. Everyone was dressed in black robes, proper attire for a funeral. The memorials for the funerals were to be held at Hogwarts, and afterwards, the families would take their loved ones to their chosen sight of burial for a small, family service.

The portkey that was chosen to take them to Hogwarts had taken the shape of an old trunk, for it would have to be big enough for all of the Weasleys, Harry, and Fleur. Hermione would be meeting them at Hogwarts, because she was currently in Darwin, Australia, reversing the memory charm on her parents. She had sent an owl earlier in the week telling them that she had located her parents, and preparing to see them.

Harry had just sat down and was grabbing a piece of buttered toast when Ginny shuffled in, looking clearly distraught, thought her eyes lit up a little at the sight of Harry. She walked with more purpose in her step over to where Harry was seated.

She kissed him softly on the cheek as she sat down on the seat next to him. She managed up a small smile, just for him, but it quickly disappeared when she stole a glance at her mum. Ginny looked down at her lap as Harry squeezed her hand in a comforting way. Her eyes wandered up to meet Harry's. The way he looked at her with his beautiful, green, eyes always had a calming effect on her.

"Come, now. Where's Ron and George? We need to be leaving, or we'll miss our portkey!" said Mr. Weasley, a very false look on his face.

"RON! GEORGE! GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE!" Ginny yelled at the stairs.

After a few moments, the sounds of feet clambering down stairs were heard from a few stories up.

"I'm here," said a startled Ron, entering the kitchen in the typical attire for the day, black robes.

"Where's George, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley, while trying to hide her tears.

"He said that he needed to grab some things, and that he would be down in a second," replied Ron.

Just as Ron finished speaking, George appeared in the doorway, looking even more depressed than Mrs. Weasley. He wasn't speaking, thought. Not even crying.

"Hurry up, hurry up. We best be leaving now," said Mr. Weasley, ushering them towards the door, with Ron swiping pieces of food as he passed.

They had all put their hands on the old trunk just as it glowed blue. Harry felt the familiar hook behind his naval as they spiraled towards Hogwarts.

After a solid five minutes of spinning, everyone tumbled to the ground near the lake.

The surrounding area looked very similar to how it was at the time of Dumbledore's funeral. There was the podium, a few seats behind it, and a couple hundred chairs were arranged in front of it. About half of the seats were already filled with wizards mourning their losses.

Harry was about to take a row of empty seats in the back, when Minister Kingsley stopped him.

"No, Harry. You will be sitting behind the podium. As for the others, they will be sitting up front," said Kingsley, directing them towards the front of the garden.

"Er-great," responded Harry, slightly confused.

Harry walked up to the front, trying his best to ignore the stares from the other witches and wizards.

After a few moments of uncomfortable stares from the occupants of the seats, Kingsley stood up to speak.

"Welcome, all. Today we are to honor and pay our respects for the fallen heroes of the Second Wizard War."

Kingsley spoke a beautiful speech of love, respect, bravery and honor. But Harry was only half paying attention. His mind was just elsewhere. But he was jarred back to earth when Kingsley addressed Harry.

"Come up, Harry."

Harry stood up to speak.

"Hello. I-er-I want to tell you of a man, probably one of the bravest men that I knew. He was a spy for Dumbledore, though many thought otherwise. He completely loathed me, as I did him. But, recently, I learned that he had the greatest of motives. He did it out of caring. He did it of love for, yes, my mother. He cared for me, way more than he let show. He assisted me on my journeys over the previous year, greater than probably possible. He died, not in vain, but out of bravery, to the hand of Voldemort." Harry paused, letting his words connect with his audience. He was studding the looks on their faces. He could tell that they were trying to figure out who was the mystery man that Harry was addressing. "That man, was Severus Snape."

All who knew Severus gasped, out of sheer shock.

"He was a great man, and I think you deserve to know who he _really_ was. He was not the evil man that most of you thought you knew, he was the great man that only Dumbledore had the honor of knowing," Harry paused. His eyes wandered the crowd, stopping on Ginny. She was wide-eyed in shock, mouth gaping. Harry couldn't help smile at her.

"Thank you, Minister Kingsley," said Harry, sitting down. As he left, the crowd burst into applause. But none louder than the Weasleys and Hermione, who had joined them just before Harry got up to speak.

A few more people stood up to speak, but in Harry's and many other peoples opinions, his was by far the most inspirational speech.

Kingsley dismissed everyone to go and retrieve the caskets bearing their loved ones.

Harry immediately sought out the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley brought him into one of her hugs, telling him, "That was beautiful, Harry. Truly beautiful."

Harry talked with a few, ok, many people, before him and the Weasleys decided to take Fred back to the Burrow.

They made their way to the portkey distributer. Their portkey took the shape of a wooden box, containing nothing.

They spun back to the Burrow. When they arrived, they agreed on burring Fred the next day on top of the hill.

Harry made his way to his 'room.' He wanted to be away from everyone for a few hours.

Harry lied down on his bed, and drifted into a light sleep.

* * *

_A/N: Hey! I did it! This story is 2,076 words long! Way longer than my other three chapters. I don't guarantee that I will post another chapter before I leave on my trip, but I'll be writing on my trip. So hopefully I'll have a few new chapters to post when I get back to the US. Please Rate & Review!  
P.S. And sorry for the kindof sudden ending. I just couldn't think of much more for this chapter. But fear not, I allready have ideas for the next few chapters!  
_


	5. Filling in the Gaps

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I _

_don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

_I've decided to post shorter chapters more frequently, than post longer chapters once a week-or-so. Just saying._

* * *

The Weasleys, Fleur, Harry and Hermione were gathered at the base of the hill, preparing for Fred's burial. They were in the all too familiar black robes, as they had worn the previous day. Mrs. Weasley had shed fresh batches of tears, and those who weren't crying, had their arms around one another, looking at the grass.

Harry's arm was around Ginny's shoulder, and the same was for Ron and Hermione. Ginny's eyes were red and puffy, though Harry had yet to see her shed a tear. But Hermione was freely crying, as she did at the previous day's memorial service.

"Let's go," said a tearful Mr. Weasley.

Everyone present began to walk slowly up the hill, with the exception of Bill, Charlie and George, who were using their wands to levitate the coffin containing Fred.

Once at the top, those who were levitating Fred placed him near a hole in the ground.

The previous day, Harry and the Weasley men had taken turns coming outside to the hilltop to dig the hole, just as Harry had done for Dobby's grave.

"Today, we are here to lay Fred Weasley in his final resting place," said Mr. Weasley. "Would anyone like to say a few words about Fred?" Mr. Weasley was clearly unable to say anything more, before he would cry.

Nobody volunteered.

"I will," said Harry. He made his way next to Fred's coffin. "Well-I-I don't think that Fred would like us to remember him in death, but in life, love and laughter. He died for something important, a better tomorrow. He would not want us crying for him, but laughing at all of the great pranks that he pulled with his partner in crime, George. "

"Well said, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley before breaking into sobs.

"Does anyone else want to speak? No? Well, then," said Mr. Weasley.

The Weasley men plus Harry each grabbed onto a handle on the coffin, lifted it off the ground, and lowered it into the earth. Once in the ground, George waved his wand, and the mound of dirt near the hole rose, and lowered down on top of the hole, burring Fred forever.

Everyone just stood there for a moment, staring at the mound of dirt that housed Fred's body.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were the first to leave the grave, then Percy followed in suit. After a few more moments, Charlie, Bill, Ron and Hermione did the same.

Ginny stood for a little while with Harry in silence, before speaking.

"Do you want me to wait for you, or should I leave without you?"

"You go ahead. I'll see you in a little bit. "

When Harry was sure that Ginny was gone, he said, "Are you sure that you're ok?"

George hesitated before speaking, "Yeah, I guess I am. But you know that feeling, when someone you care the world for, is no longer there for you?"

Harry nodded, thinking of Sirius.

"How long does it take to go away?" asked George.

"Well-it never-really-goes away. But life goes on, even with that-feeling. You just-have to work around it," said Harry, truthfully. You see, he never really felt recovered from when he found out about his parent's fate, Sirius's death, and then Remus. He had lost all fatherly figures in his life, and you just can't recover from something like that. Harry doubted that George would recover from loosing a brother, let alone a twin.

"Oh," said George, sounding very disappointed.

"But," said Harry, attempting to cheer George up a little, "You will feel better when surrounded by those you love, and who love you."

"Thanks, Harry," said George. "Let's go eat, before Ron gets all the food."

Harry smiled, Ron was known to eat all the food.

Harry and George made their way back to the Burrow.

When they entered the kitchen, they were the only ones with a cheerful attitude.

"What's going on?" asked a bewildered Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry put some things into perspective for me, that's all," replied George. And he was _smiling._ "I'll leave you, now."

Everyone stared at Harry in awe.

"_What did you say to him?"_ asked Charlie, impressed.

"I think that if George wants you to know, he will tell you himself," said Harry.

All thorough lunch, Harry had been receiving looks from all the Weasley family members. When he had finished lunch, he excused himself to go outside.

While he was outside, he did not see Kingsley enter the Burrow.

It was only drawn to his attention when Ginny came running towards him.

"There you are! We've been looking for you! Kingsley is here, he wants to see you!" said Ginny in between gasp for air.

"All right, let's go."

When Harry entered the sitting room, he saw Kingsley sitting in one of the larger armchairs.

"Hello, Harry," said Kingsley. He looked far better than he had a couple of days ago.

"Hello, Kingsley. Is there something that you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Harry.

"Yes, and it concerns you, young Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. If there is somewhere private, that we could talk?" asked Kingsley.

"Yes, yes. You _could _do it in the attic, but it's highly uncomfortable. How about you just do it outside?" Mr. Weasley said.

"Yes, that will do nicely."

Kingsley ushered the three outside.

"Now, I am here to talk to you about your education and job offers. You haven't completed your NEWTS, but you being who you are, I don't think we will require you to take them." said Kingsley.

"Oh, but I _want _to take them, Minister Kingsley! I have studied hard for them, I am not backing out just because I don't _have _to take them!" said an exasperated Hermione. _Oh course, Hermione wants to take her NEWTS._

"Well, if you want to take them, I think that the arrangements can be made. And you can just call me Kingsley. But does that mean that you want to re-take your 7th year at Hogwarts, Miss Granger?" asked Kingsley, taken aback.

"But of course! I will need to know what will be on the test." said Hermione.

Ron's mouth was hanging open, in clear shock. Harry was shocked as well, but he had been expecting this to happen. He would have been more shocked had she _not _gone back to Hogwarts.

"And judging by the looks on your faces, neither of you will be returning?" asked Kingsley.

Both Harry and Ron nodded in agreement.

"Now, Minerva has informed me that you both have an ambition to become Aurors, am I not right?"

"We would love to be Aurors!" said both Harry and Ron enthusiastically.

"Great! I shall send you both owls containing the information that you need. With that, I will be leaving now," said Kingsley, getting ready to leave.

"Wait! I want to tell you something," said Harry.

"What? Oh, well then, fire away," said a startled Kingsley.

"Well, I was hoping to tell you, and the Weasleys," said Harry, pausing to think, "and Minerva McGonagall. Could you floo her, telling her to get over here, and that it's urgent."

"Yes, if one of you would be kind enough to direct me to the fireplace?" Ron directed Kingsley to their fireplace that was connected to the Floo Network.

10 minutes later, Harry had all of the Weasleys, Kingsley, Fleur, Hermione and Professor McGonagall in the Weasley's sitting room, eagerly awaiting to hear what Harry had called them all together to hear.

"Now, I know that Hermione and Ron know what happened to us over the previous year, but you guys don't. And I want you all to know what happened." said Harry, while looking towards Ron and Hermione, checking for their approval. Harry waited until they had both nodded their heads before continuing.

"You know that we had to flee Bill and Fleur's wedding when the Death Eater's attacked. So I think that I'll start from there. We, meaning me, Ron and Hermione, apparted to Tottenham Court Road, being the first place that came to Hermione's mind that would be safe. But, me being me, I said Voldemort's name when it had the taboo on it, so two Death Eaters came and attacked us. We then apparted to Grimmauld Place. We camped out there for a few weeks before we had a some-what-solid plan, we were going to break into the Ministry of Magic, to steal back Slytherin's Locket from Umbridge." said Harry. It was then that he realized that many of his audience members had a confused look on their face. "Let me back up a little. The locket, along with Riddle's Diary, Helga Hufflepuff's Goblet, Rowenda Ravenclaw's Diadem, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Voldemort's snake, Nagini, and one more Horcrux that even Ron and Hermione don't know of."

This got even confused stares out of Ron and Hermione.

"A Horcrux is an object containing a piece of one's soul. To create one, you must spit your soul by murdering. It's a very dark form of magic. But he created seven Horcruxes in total. Over the past year, we have been hunting down each and every one of them. Now, back to the story. We broke into the Ministry as Ministry workers, and stole the locket back from Umbridge. We even managed to free a few dozen muggle-borns. But one of the Death Eaters at the Ministry grabbed hold of us, causing Ron to get splinched and him being able to get past the barriers at Grimmauld Place. So we immediately apparted to the forest where the Quittich World Cup was held. There, I had a vision telling me that Voldemort was seeking out Gregorovitch. In the end, he was searching for the Elder Wand, and Gregorovitch was the last know possessor of it. But in reality, Dumbledore had it. Now, I know that Ron will _kill_ me for telling you this, but he got in a row with me and Hermione and left. I don't know where he went, but judging by the looks on your faces, he wasn't with you. But me and Hermione visited Godric's Hollow after a while, and things went horribly wrong. Voldemort had his snake living inside Bathilda Bagshot, who is long dead, and he knew that we would come here. The snake attacked me in the house, and we only just got away before Voldemort got there. But unfortunately, my wand broke in the escape."

"Hold it, Harry. You're telling us that the wand that is in your pocket now is the wand that broke?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, it is. I fixed it with the Elder Wand. More on that later," said Harry. "But, in our campsite, Snape sent us a Patronus in the form of a silver doe, leading me to the Sword of Godric Gryffindor. I would have drown had Ron not come back to save me. Oh, and the sword, a Basilisk's venom, and a few other things. Ron stabbed the locket with the sword. One piece of Voldemort's soul had been destroyed. Oh, and Dumbledore had destroyed the ring, me the Diary way back in my second year," Ginny looked at the floor when Harry said this, "so, Ron was officially back with us. We then went to visit Xenophilius Lovegood. It was there that he told us of the tale of the Deathly Hallows and it went like this, _Hundreds of years ago, the three __Peverell brothers__ were travelling at twilight, and reached a river too dangerous to traverse. The three brothers, being very powerful wizards, simply created a bridge across the river. They were then stopped by __Death__ himself, who was displeased that they had gotten across the river, thus cheating him out of new victims. __Death__ then congratulated them on being clever enough to evade him, and offered each of them a powerful magical item. The first brother, __Antioch Peverell__, wished to become invincible in duels; Death broke a branch off a nearby tree and created for him the __Elder Wand__, a wand more powerful than any other in existence. The second brother, __Cadmus Peverell__, wished to resurrect his lost love; Death then took a stone from the riverbed and created for him the __Resurrection Stone__, a stone capable of bringing the dead back to the living world. The third brother, __Ignotus Peverell__, realized the danger of the situation and requested a means by which Death could not find him; Death grudgingly gave him the cloak off his back, the __Cloak of Invisibility__, an invisibility cloak that never lost its power through curses or age. The three objects, the cloak, the wand and the stone, together make up the Deathly Hallows._"

"I remember that story!" said Ginny.

"Yes, and it is all real. Ignotus Peverell is my who-knows-how-great-grandfather. He passed down the Invisibility Cloak to my descendants. But he set us up. He turned us into the Death Eaters. We barley escaped. "

Many of the audience had looks of horror and shock on their faces.

"But when we escaped to safety, I made the mistake of using the tabooed name, and we got caught. They took us all to Malfoy Manor. There they tortured Hermione for information, while me, Ron, Luna, Griphook the goblin, Ollivander and Dean Thomas were in the Dungeon. Through Sirius's mirror, I saw Aberforth's eye, who sent us Dobby. Wormtail's own hand strangled him, and we went upstairs to rescue Hermione. There I disarmed Draco, becoming the Master of the Elder Wand."

More confused looks.

"Because Draco disarmed Dumbledore, the current Master of the Elder Wand, he became the new Master. I took the title of it from him even though he wasn't using the Elder Wand. But Bellatrix's knife stabbed," Harry was close to crying, "stabbed Dobby. He died in my arms."

"Oh, Harry." Ginny took Harry into a hug. After a few moments, Harry broke off to finish the story.

"We stayed at Shell Cottage. It was there that we plotted with Griphook to break into the Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. Because we had hairs from Bellatrix, it was easy for Hermione to disguise has her, me under the invisibility cloak, and Ron in disguise. We broke in, got the Goblet, and escaped on a dragon. We landed near Hogwarts. There we entered through the secret passage in the Hogs Head. You know the story from there."

"But _what_ was the final Horcrux?" asked Hermione.

"Me. When Snape transferred his memories to me, it told me so. When Voldemort tried to kill me that night so long ago, he placed a part of his soul in me. I had to die. I had the resurrection stone, so I was visited by Sirius, James and Lily. I left myself undefended, and Voldemort killed me."

Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Professor McGonagall were crying. Everyone else had tears sprinkling their eyes.

"I met with Dumbledore in Kings Cross station, and he answered most of my questions. And he gave me a choice. To return to earth, or die. I obviously chose to live. I came back, Voldemort sent Narcissa Malfoy to see if I was dead. She saved my life. She lied and said that I was dead. That is where the story that you know picks up."

"Harry…" Kingsley was speechless. "I had no idea."

Ginny pulled Harry into a fierce hug.

Without even meaning to, Harry had brought the entire sitting room to tears.

* * *

_A/N: So sad :( This is my last post before I go on vacation. It will be about a week until my next chapter is posted. Please Rate and Review!_


	6. Gringotts Goblins

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I __don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

* * *

Harry walked into the Burrow's kitchen a week after Kingsley had visited the Burrow. He had been anxiously awaiting his owl containing the information on becoming an Auror. He was finally given the chance to become an Auror! But the other thought weighing on his mind was leaving all of his friends for three years. He had missed everyone immensely for a year, but he still had Ron and Hermione. He might still be with Ron, though.

That would also mean leaving Ginny for another three years. She almost hadn't forgiven him the first time, what would happen this time? Harry knew that Ginny didn't know of him becoming an Auror, because Harry had been waiting for just the right moment to break it to her.

Harry had decided that during a walk with her around the Burrow would be the perfect time to tell her.

"Hey, Ginny. Would you care to take a walk with me?" asked Harry.

"I would love to, Harry," replied Ginny with a smile.

She took Harry's arm and together they walked outside.

After walking well away from the Burrow and Fred's grave, Ginny broke the silence.

"Harry, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"What makes you think I want to tell you something?" asked a guilty-faced Harry.

"I know you, Harry."

"All right, I'm gonna have to tell you anyway, so here it goes. When Kingsley came here a week ago, he really came to offer me and Ron jobs as Aurors. And both me and accepted."

"That's great, Harry!"

"Yeah, except for one thing. The Auror training is _three _years long."

The smile on Ginny's face faltered. Judging by that, Harry could figure that Ginny had not known that.

"I still think that you should take the job, Harry. It's what you always wanted!" Ginny clearly thought that it was her who was standing in the way. It was _partly_ her. More her family in general.

Harry noticed the smile on Ginny's face falter. Harry pulled Ginny into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, Harry."

"I will too. But you can't get rid of me that easily, you know. The training doesn't start until September 7th."

Ginny looked suddenly happier. "You'll see me off to Hogwarts?"

"I wouldn't even think of missing my last chance to see you."

They stood in silence.

"Harry! There you are there's a couple of Goblins here, says they need to see you, now!" Hermione and Ron were running towards them.

"Were coming!" shouted Ginny.

Harry looked pale. _They've probably come because of us breaking into Gringotts._

That same thought occurred on Ginny. "They would want Ron and Hermione too, if that's why they were here."

Harry thought about it all the way back to the Burrow.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I am Remon. And this is my colleague, Venis," said the Goblin named Remon.

"You're not here because…" trailed Harry.

"All charges have been cleared for you as well as young Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. We are here for other matters," said the Goblin named Venis.

The color in Harry, Ron and Hermione's face returned.

"Then why are you here?" Hermione asked.

"These matters don't concern you, as well as the Weasleys," said Venis.

"They don't?" asked Ron.

"Why we are here is between us and Mr. Potter," said Remon.

"They can stay," said Harry. He didn't want to be left alone with them. He had learned the hard way not to trust Goblins. Griphook had yet to turn up.

"If it's your wish," said Venis.

"Why are you here, and why doesn't it concern anyone else?" asked Harry.

"This is a matter of Mr. Potter's Gringotts accounts," said Remon.

"I already have my vault, thank you," said Harry, confused.

"That was your School Fund, Mr. Potter. We are here regarding your Family Heirlooms vault, the vault containing the rest of your money, and the vaults for the Black Family."

"The Black Family?" asked Harry.

"Yes. Seeing as Sirius was the one who was to get the family fortune, but he has passed it onto you," said Venis.

"Oh."

"Yes. Where would you like to begin, Mr. Potter?" asked Remon.

"Let's start with the Family Heirlooms vault," said Harry. _I had no idea that I had so much money!_ thought Harry.

"Your choice. We have very little knowledge on what is contained in that particular vault. The only things that we know are there are your houses. The other things are portraits of your ancestors, jewelry, books, furniture, and the like," said Remon.

"My _Houses_?" asked Harry. _How many houses could one family own?_ thought Harry.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Your houses, plural. You have the house in Godric's Hollow, which is now a memorial, as I think you know," said Venis.

"Yes, I'm aware," responded Harry.

"You also have Potter Manor. The Potter's are an old and respected Wizarding family. That house is around 300 years old. As stated in Sirius Black's will, you are in possession of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. It no longer is under the Fidelius Charm, seeing as there is no longer threat to its residents. You have inherited Black Manor as well. The Black's are also a very old and respected family. Their house is slightly older than those of the Potter's, but only by a decade or so," continued Venis. It was probably his job to learn about his houses. "You have one more home, the Potter Beach House. It's located off the coast off Stonehaven, Scotland. It was purchased by the Potter generation before your parents, so that would make them your grandparents."

"I have _five houses?_" Harry had no idea how rich he actually was.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, you do. The Potters are one of the richest families in the Wizarding world, in case you didn't know," said Remon.

Harry, along with the Weasleys that were in the room were standing/sitting as still as stone.

"If you would like more knowledge on what is housed in that vault you can visit Gringotts on a later date to see the contents. What vault would you like to be informed on next?" asked Remon.

"Um, how about the Black family vault?" said Harry.

"Yes. It is fairly similar to the Potter vault situation. We aren't permitted to know many of it's contents, but we have a general idea. Mostly gold, furniture items, jewelry, money, portraits and similar things," rattled Venis.

"OK." said Harry.

"That leaves us with the vault containing the rest of your gold," said Remon.

"Wouldn't that be just my family's gold?" asked Harry.

"Yes, it would Mr. Potter," said Remon. "Here is the paperwork regarding what I just told you about," he said as he handed Harry a thick folder. "And here, is the keys to your vaults," he said, handing him an envelope that Harry assumed held the keys. "Would you like for us to transfer the money in your School Fund vault to the vault holding the rest of your gold?"

"Yes, please." Harry responded.

"That is all, so we will be leaving. If you have any further questions, you may visit me at Gringotts, I am the Goblin in charge of your family's vault." Remon said.

"Good bye, then." Harry stood up, along with the Goblins.

The Goblins made their way to the door.

Once they had made it past the appartation point, they disappeared with a crack.

"Harry?" asked Ginny.

"What is it, love?" Harry responded.

"How you doing?"

"Fine. Relieved. That they weren't here to arrest me," Harry said, smiling.

"Yes, it's great that they didn't take you off to Azkaban. But I don't think that Kingsley would allow you to go to Azkaban," said a playful Ginny.

Harry pulled her into a hug. "No, I don't think that he would."

Harry kissed the top of Ginny's head.

"Well, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" asked Ginny.

"I wanted to go to Diagon Alley. To see the contents of my vault, and maybe, if your family is up to it, we could check out the Joke Shop," said Harry.

"That's a great idea! Of course, if everyone else is up to it," said an enthusiastic Ginny.

"Well, let's ask them," said Harry.

The couple made their way to the kitchen, where all the Weasleys who were making residents at the Burrow were.

"Harry had the greatest idea, Mum," said Ginny.

"And what was that, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley, preoccupied with making lunch for the family.

"We should go to Diagon Alley, as a family. To, you know, see what state of peril Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is in."

George looked up from the Daily Prophet at hearing the news.

"Ginny, I'm all for going to Diagon Alley, but it's not me you should be asking for visiting the Joke Shop," she responded.

Ginny turned her attention to George, who was now paying full attention now.

"Please, George? Can we go?" she asked with her best pleating, helpless voice.

"Well, I suppose that it wouldn't be a _bad _idea. And I guess that we would need to see it eventually, so in that case…" George said, weighing his options.

"Is that a yes?" asked Ginny hopefully.

"I suppose that it is," said George, standing up. "I am going upstairs to get ready."

"How 'bout we eat here, then Floo to Diagon Alley afterwards?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Great," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Until then, how about we play a game of Quidditch?" asked Harry.

"Sure, I'll go and round up the players." Ron said, getting up to snag the brothers.

Harry and Ginny made their way to the shed to grab the brooms and balls.

Within 5 minutes, Harry, Ginny, Ron, George and Charlie were standing in the center of the field, holding brooms in their hand, dividing into teams.

"How about Ron plays Keeper, Harry and Ginny are Seekers, and me and George are the Chasers," said Charlie.

"I'll have Harry on my team," said George.

"I guess that means I get Ginny," said Charlie, Harry thinking that he could hear a little bit of disappointment in his voice.

"Let's play!" said Ginny.

They were up in the air in seconds.

Hermione was the reff, but she wasn't the greatest, considering she didn't know many rules for Quidditch.

Charlie scored then George, then Charlie, then Charlie again. He was doing better, because George had been a Beater, not Chaser.

After a half-hour of playing, Ginny and Charlie were so far ahead, that the only way that George and Harry were going to win was if Harry caught the Snitch. Neither Harry nor Ginny had spotted the golden sphere yet, though.

Hermione was clearly getting bored; she had never liked Quidditch much, only attending the games at Hogwarts because Harry was always on the team.

Just as Ginny mad a dive out of the way of Charlie, Harry spotted the Snitch. It was glittering a little across the field. Harry had the advantage over Ginny, having the faster broom and being closer. Just as Harry began to speed towards the Snitch, Ginny spotted it as well. She knew very well that Harry would make it there before her, but she gave it the benefit of the doubt, racing at full speed.

She was too late, but only by a couple of seconds. Harry had the Snitch in his hand when Ginny made it to where Harry was. She was going too fast to stop suddenly, so she instead crashed into Harry, sending them both flying off their brooms.

They landed in the bushes nearby. It was a short fall, only about 15 feet, so neither was injured.

"Nice going, Ginny," said a sarcastic Harry.

"I'm sorry, OK?" said Ginny.

"I forgive you," said Harry, kissing her.

"We should get out of here, the branches hurt," she replied, while struggling to get out of the bushes.

"Let me help you."

"Thanks."

They climbed out of the bushes to find a small crowd.

"Are you all right?" asked Hermione.

"We're fine, really," said Harry.

"I just couldn't stop fast enough," said Ginny, explaining.

"Yeah," said Harry.

As if on cue, Mrs. Weasley called out to them.

"Not a word to mum," threatened Ginny.

"Agreed," said everyone else.

They all walked into the Burrow's kitchen, hungry.

Mrs. Weasley dished them up food, and they all ate in semi-silence, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley making small conversation.

When everyone had finished eating, and the remains of lunch had been cleaned up, everyone made their way to the fireplace that was connected to the Floo Network.

Mrs. Weasley held out the pot containing the Floo Powder, and everyone took a pinch.

"We'll meet you at the Joke Shop, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Can I go with you, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"Sure," he said.

"Diagon Alley!" shouted each person as they stepped into the fire.

Harry stepped out of the fireplace that was connected to Diagon Alley.

He realized that the last time that he had been here, was when he had robbed Gringotts with Ron and Hermione. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. But it was short lived, because Ginny stumbled out of the fireplace next.

"It's been a long time, you know?" said Ginny casually.

"Yeah, it has," he replied in the same casual tone.

Just as he finished speaking, the shoppers of Diagon Alley had figured out that Harry Potter was there.

"It's HARRY POTTER!" said the shoppers.

He was soon surrounded by a crowd of people, each wanting their own piece of Harry.

Harry grabbed Ginny by the elbow and started to slowly make his way through the crowd.

It was a good 10 minutes before Harry and Ginny were at the steps of Gringotts, the crowd that surrounded them earlier had thinned, but only slightly.

When Harry walked into Gringotts, he got a few hostile and angry looks from some of the Goblins working their, but most were just staring at him with the usual blank expression that they gave to every customer.

"How may I help you?" asked the teller.

"I'm here to see my vaults, please." Harry said as he handed over the keys.

"Yes, this way." The Goblin began to lead them back the same way that he had walked on the way to the Lestrange's vault.

After they had made it through the mazes of tracks that lead to all the vaults, they arrived at the Family Heirloom vault.

The Goblin inserted the key, and the door opened.

What lied behind the door shocked both Harry and Ginny. It was mountains of gold, and other valuables.

Harry walked through the vault, eyeing each item with care.

"Hey! Harry! Check it out," said Ginny, pointing at a square glass box.

"What's in it?" he asked, making his way over to where Ginny stood.

"It looks like wedding rings," she said, marveling at each one's beauty.

Harry didn't have to look hard to find his parents. They were at the far right of the box. Harry assumed that they went in chronological order.

His mom's was beautiful. It had a solid gold band with a single silver stripe down it. The stone was an emerald, most likely to match her eyes. And Harry couldn't help but imagine Ginny's hand with that ring. But he shook the image from his mind quickly. _We're both young. She still has to finish school, and I'm leaving for Auror Training._

After 10 more minutes of them walking about the vault, pausing at items of interest.

"Are you ready to leave?" asked Harry.

"Sure. Let's go to the Joke Shop," replied Ginny.

They walked hand in hand towards the Gringotts exit.

* * *

_A/N: What do you think? Guess the word count? 2,618! I beat my goal! I might or might not get another chapter up before the weekends up, but keep reading! As always, please Rate and Review!_


	7. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I _

_don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

Harry and Ginny walked out of Gringotts to find a the area around it almost exactly as it looked when they had entered Gringotts almost an hour ago, every inch of it was occupied with reporters from various Wizarding news papers and magazine companies. And what wasn't filled with reporters was filled with fans of Harry, all wishing to thank him or touch him.

"Come on Ginny," Harry said with frustration._ Can't they just leave me alone for 10 minutes?_ Harry thought to himself.

"Harry! Harry! Just a few questions for Witch Weekly?" asked a reporter in a set of muted pink robes, that somewhat reminded Harry of Umbridge. He shuttered at the thought of the old toad-faced witch.

Harry continued walking, hoping that the young witch would not press any further for answers, but that's exactly what she did.

"Where are you going?" she asked, quill at ready should Harry answer.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Harry said dully, eyeing his options for a quick escape.

"_Why?_" she asked, a look of surprise on her face. Clearly she thought Harry had better things to do than visit a joke shop that had been closed for the past few months.

"Because I _want_ to. Because that's where my family is," said Harry. He was angry with that stupid witch. He noticed the look of shock that spread across the witch's face.

Harry also noticed the look of happiness that spread across Ginny's face. Harry questioned it for a moment, but then found out the cause. He had called the Weasley's his family. Harry smiled back at her.

"Who's this?" asked the witch. She bounced back fast from Harry's comment.

"This is my Girlfriend," said Harry. And even bigger look of happiness grew on Ginny's face. They were officially Boyfriend/Girlfriend.

"Oh," said the Witch Weekly reporter. She looked about ready to ask another question, but was interrupted by Harry speaking.

"Goodbye," he said, before turning with Ginny and disapparting to the Joke Shop.

They appeared just outside the Joke Shop, because there were wards on it forbidding anyone other than Fred and George from directly apparting into it.

Harry knocked on the door. After a few moments, Charlie opened it.

"Hey," he said, standing aside, creating room for Harry and Ginny to enter. "Find anything of interest, Harry?"

"Just a couple of things. It was mostly old heirloom kind of things," replied Harry.

"Oh, and we found-well I found-the Potter family wedding rings," said Ginny.

"You did, now?" said Charlie, curiously.

"Yeah," said Harry.

Harry and Ginny looked around the shop, and it was near disastrous. Almost everything was coated in a fine layer of dust and grime, and some things had been turned over. Most of the shelves were empty, but what was there, was broken. It looked as though some of the Death Eaters had invaded the shop, looking for the Weasleys.

"What's there to help with?" asked Ginny.

"Well, George and I are working down here, with little progress. So if you want, you could help down here," Charlie replied, gesturing towards the mess that once was the main level of the shop.

"We'd be glad to," said Harry.

"You can go back there and help George, Harry. Ginny can work up front with me," said Charlie. Harry couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he was _purposely _ keeping Harry and Ginny apart.

"K," said Harry, walking to the back of the store where you could just see George from behind some shelves.

_Ginny's Point of View_

"So," Charlie said awkwardly.

"How long have you been working?" asked Ginny, while drawing her wand.

"Not long. Big crowds today, hard to get through," he replied, while performing a spell to get the dust off the shelves on an unusually large display case.

"I know. We had to appartate here, there were so many people," she replied.

"I thought that there were wards here preventing people from apparting," said Charlie, looking up from his work.

"Well, if there were, there gone now. Harry was able to appartate."

"Oh, but the wards are still up on the shop, right?"

"Yes, we couldn't appartate directly here, we just appeared at the door."

"Good. Don't want any unwanted visitors to the shop now," said Charlie, smiling.

Ginny laughed softly at his humor.

"Did you see anything else in the vault?" asked Charlie, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Mostly gold and stuff like that," said Ginny.

"Oh," Charlie replied.

"Did you hear what Harry said about us earlier?"

"What?" asked Charlie, looking a cross between angry and nervous.

"He called us his family, Charlie."

"He did?" Charlie was shocked.

"Yes, he told it to some pushy reporter when we left Gringotts. She was shocked that he was visiting the joke shop now, and he said that he was visiting here to help family."

"Wow," Charlie was touched, shocked and surprised at the same time.

"I know," said Ginny softly.

They worked in merry silence for a couple of hours, until they heard the explosion outside.

_A/N: Oh! A cliff hanger! Sorry about the shortness, but I really wanted to leave you hanging! Guess how many hits I have? 1,677! I'm so proud of me and my first story! Please Rate and Review, as if I need to tell you! Read On Peoples!_


	8. Four Death Eaters

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I __don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

* * *

Harry raced to the front of the store, as did all of the Weasleys and Hermione. Charlie and Harry looked out the front window to find Diagon Alley, filled with chaotic people; sparks flying from spells cast, and smoke from the fires that were raging on a few unlucky buildings.

Harry even thought that he saw a flash of green light, the all too familiar green light that belonged to the Killing Curse. Harry shuttered at the thought of who was the unlucky person to be on the receiving end on the curse, and who was stupid enough to use it in Diagon Alley.

Before anyone had much time to think about it, Harry had drawn his wand and was racing out the door, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George and Charlie close behind.

Mrs. Weasley's cries could be heard behind them as they went into the alley; she was worried about her kids. She had just lost Fred; she wouldn't be able to take loosing another.

It didn't take long to find the source of the mayhem. Only a short 30 feet from where Harry stood, Fenrir Greyback was looking as savage as ever before, with Avery, Antonin Dolohov, and Rodolphus Lestrange, all looking ready to kill. And it didn't take a genius to guess who they were after.

Harry took a quick survey of the area: most of it was covered in rubble, and many people and objects had some degree of burns from the fires.

"Ginny! Get out of here!" yelled an exasperated Harry. He figured that they wouldn't care who they killed, as long as in the end, Harry was dead.

When Greyback sent another curse flying, Ron pulled Hermione out of the way just in time. The curse was an unfamiliar one to Harry, but he doubted that it was a simple hex or jinx.

"I'm not leaving you!" Ginny screamed back, the same exasperated tone in her voice.

By now, most of the occupants of Diagon Alley had cleared, seeking shelter in a nearby building or behind a sigh or vending cart.

It was eerily quiet. The former Death Eaters were nowhere to be seen. All of the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione had their wands drawn, ready to attack at any moment.

After a few agonizing minutes of the deafening silence, Greyback leaped out from behind a window for a candy shop, shattering the glass in the process.

He let out the worst noise, somewhere between a Werewolf growl and a human shriek.

Harry and the others wanted to put their hands to their ears to block out the noise, but they couldn't leave themselves unguarded.

Greyback stopped in front of the group, a devilish smile playing across his face. Avery, Antonin Dolohov, and Rodolphus Lestrange walked out of a nearby book store. They were wearing the same smile that Greyback was.

"So we meet again, Potter," sneered Greyback. "Let's see … red hair, freckles, you must be the Weasleys," he said, addressing them. The Weasleys didn't respond.

"So, who to finish off first?" asked Rodolphus. It was unclear if he was doing this to avenge his wife, or Voldemort. Possibly both.

"How about the girl?" said Dolohov, looking at Ginny with a deathly glare. Ginny didn't back down, but you could see the fear in her eyes.

"Yes, oh how I would _love_ to feast on her," said Greyback, happily. Or at least as close to happy as he could get.

"You won't touch her," said Harry through gritted teeth. He was not about to let her die now. Not after everything that had happened.

Everyone stood silently, sending murderous glares at the enemy. Harry was silently communicating with the others.

Their plan was to use the Weasley's joke shop gags to create an explosion as a distraction. Then they would run off into different directions, while the others were confused. Hopefully they would each chase a different person. Because they figured, a single Death Eater was easier to take on with a partner, than four Death Eaters all at once, even if you did outnumber them 1:2.

George discreetly laid a firework in a pile of rubble, aimed at the Death Eaters. He lit the match, and it counted down. Luckily the Death Eaters were too preoccupied with Harry and Ginny to notice George's actions.

"You can't stop us, Potter." Greyback was frustrated. He had figured that Harry would have come alone, not with half a dozen people. Though they weren't much of a challenge, seeing as they were all under 30 years old.

"I've taken down Voldemort, you guys should be a breeze," said Harry, stalling time until the firework went off.

He didn't have to wait long though, because just as he finished speaking, the firework sputtered to life, blasting in a straight path towards the stunned Death Eaters.

When they heard the howls from the Death Eaters, everyone made a run for it.

Charlie and George ran to the north, towards the Leaky Cauldron. Ron and Hermione ran west in the direction of Flourish and Blotts. Harry and Ginny ran east. Nobody went south seeing as the Death Eaters were blocking the south exit. Harry had never been in this part of Diagon Alley, and judging by the lost expression that Ginny wore, neither had she.

They made turn after turn, but they didn't recognize anything. Not a single shop name or street sign looked the least bit familiar to either of them.

Once they felt like they were far enough away from them, they walked into a café that looked as though it had been closed for years. The sign on the door said it was for sale. They crouched down below the window, low enough to not be seen by anyone passing by, but high enough to be able to see out the window should they need to look out. Both Harry and Ginny were gasping for breath, having run nearly two miles without stopping.

"I had no idea that Diagon Alley was so big," said Ginny.

"Same," Harry said, not being able to get enough wind in him to speak more that a few words at a time.

"Do you think they'll find us?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"Maybe, but even if they do, it'll probably be a while, seeing how far we've ran." These words were more for Harry than Ginny. He kept trying to convince himself that they were going to be safe. But another question kept nagging at his mind.

"Do you think that the others got away?" asked Ginny, stealing the question from Harry.

"Hard to tell. Charlie and George didn't have many options on where to run. But they might have gone into muggle London." Harry was doubtful of that, though. He had known them for a while, and they weren't ones to leave those who they loved in danger for their own safety.

"What about Ron and Hermione?" asked Ginny. There were very few times that Harry had ever seen Ginny this scared.

Before Harry could answer, all four Death Eaters rounded the corner, looking ravenous.

"We know you're here," said Greyback.

"Don't move," Harry muttered under his breath, so that only Ginny could hear him.

She silently nodded.

They could hear the sounds of boots making contact with the cobble stone street growing closer and closer. And with every footstep, Harry and Ginny's breaths got quicker and quicker.

The steps were slowly getting closer, but it felt as though at any moment, someone was going to realize that they were there, and they would turn them in.

After what seemed like eternity, Antonin Dolohov stood above their hiding place. He didn't appear to have seen them, instead looking intently at all of the nooks and crannies of the old café. When he appeared not to have spotted anything that resembled the figure of a human, he stepped back. Harry and Ginny both let out a sigh of relief, but that was a mistake.

Antonin Dolohov heard their sigh, and his attention was immediately drawn back to the café. _This would have been a great time for me to have my invisibility cloak,_ Harry thought. Just when they both thought it was safe, Dolohov's eyes drifted downwards, seeing Ginny's fiery red hair.

"Hey! It's a Weasley! The girl, with someone else!" he yelled, calling the other Death Eaters over.

"What? Who is she with? Who is it?" asked Greyback, excitement biting at the edge of his voice.

"Can't tell, but whoever it is, they don't' have red hair," he replied, trying to piece together who the mystery person was.

Before Harry or Ginny could react, the glass in the window above them had shattered. Harry put himself on top of Ginny to protect her, and he put his hand over her mouth to stop her from making any unwanted noise.

Unexpectedly, she grabbed something that was resting in Harry's pocket. _What would be in my pocket?_ Harry thought. She whipped out the invisibility cloak._ How could I have had it in my pocket the whole time, but not realize that it was there?_ But he thought back to when the war was just over, he had started to carry his invisibility cloak with him _everywhere_, just as a precaution. It turned out that that precaution was well worth it.

Harry pulled the cloak over him and Ginny just as the shop door got blasted off. None of them had an eye like Mad-Eye's, so they had no idea that they were there, under the cloak.

"Where'd they go?" asked and enraged Greyback. He clearly didn't like to be punked. Especially by one of his own.

"I saw someone, I swear!" said an exasperated Dolohov, pleating for Greyback to believe him.

"Let's look around, see if he's lying," said Rodolphus.

"Yes, let's," said Greyback, eyeing the room, trying to spot the red hair that Dolohov had said he saw.

They all looked around in silence, hoping to hear a small cough or breathing. But they heard neither, and probably wouldn't because Harry and Ginny had snuck out of the abandoned café as soon as time would permit.

In no time, they were sprinting back the way that they had come. They took off the invisibility cloak, because it was too difficult to run with it on. And they knew that all of the Death Eaters were in the café, looking for the mysterious other and red head that they would never find there.

They made it back to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, their meeting point, even faster than they had left. Once they got there, they saw everyone pacing inside with a worried expression. Mrs. Weasley was sitting, a vacant look on her face.

When they walked through the door, all the heads turned to them.

"What happened?" asked a worried Mrs. Weasley.

"They all caught up with us in some abandoned café, and we snuck out under the invisibility cloak. Had Harry been smart enough to realize that he had it before they forced entry, we would have been back here sooner," Ginny explained.

"Why do you think that they _all _went that way. I mean it's not like they knew where Harry was going, did they?" said George.

Seconds later Bill, Fleur, Percy and Mr. Weasley arrived in the joke shop.

"We've only just heard! Is everyone all right?" said Mr. Weasley, running to accompany his wife.

"Fenrir Greyback, Avery, Antonin Dolohov, and Rodolphus Lestrange showed up in Diagon Alley, blowing things up and killing people. George sent one of the joke shop's fireworks at them, distracting them so we could run away. We all went different directions. Ginny and I hid in some café, and they all cornered us there. Ginny realized that I had my invisibility cloak with me. We hid under it and ran back here. They might or might not have realized that we aren't there anymore," said Harry quickly.

Just as Harry said that, the four Death Eaters rounded the corner, ready to kill.

* * *

_A/N: Oh! Another cliff-hanger! I do enjoy writing cliff hangers! I probably won't post another chapter before the weekends up, but I have posted three this weekend. As always _कृपया दर और समीक्षा_!__ That means 'Please Rate and Review' in hindi!_नमस्ते _That means Goodbye!_


	9. The Ministry of Magic

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I _

_don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

Everyone stood frozen with fear. Nobody was prepared for anything like this to happen. _But where are the Aurors? Where are the other Order members? _Harry thought. Weren't they supposed to be out to get the Death Eaters, it had been their job for a long time, and unless they had a sudden change in assignments, they should be here stopping them.

"Nobody tricks us," said Greyback. Harry noticed that they were one Death Eater short. Dolohov was no longer with them, and Harry guessed it was because he tricked them, even though he _did_ tell the truth.

"Where are the Aurors?" asked Hermione. "Shouldn't they be here by now?" She sounded worried.

"I don't know, you think that they would know, if four Death Eaters attacked one of the busiest Wizarding places," said Ron.

"Your friends won't be showing up," said Greyback, smiling a toothy smile.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Charlie, worried.

"We've sealed off all of the entrances here. They Leaky Cauldron, Apparting, the Floo Network, all gone," said Avery.

Most of the Weasleys had grown paler, along with Hermione.

"Give it up. You know you can't win. So just let us kill Harry, and we might just let you guys go," said Lestrange.

You could guess that they weren't going to let them go, even if they did hand over Harry.

"Never," said Ginny. As the saying goes, 'If looks could kill … '

"You're gonna have to kill us before we ever let you kill Harry," said George, staring down the three Death Eaters.

"Fine by us, the more the merrier," said Greyback, barring his teeth.

After that, everything happened so fast. Greyback leaped forward, ready to bite. Avery cast a stunning spell, aiming for the Weasleys, and Lestrange jumped to the punch, casting the Killing Curse, straight at Ginny.

Harry didn't pause to see if she would move or not, he let his instincts take over, pulling her away from where she was before she even saw the flash of green light.

"Harry! What was … " Ginny didn't continue, because she saw the last of the green light hit a cart filled with candy burst into flames. A look of horror spread across her face. "It would have … I wouldn't have moved …" she sputtered, pulling Harry into a bone crushing hug.

"I have an idea, pull this over you," said Harry, helping the invisibility cloak slide over Ginny and himself.

"What?" she asked, but allowed Harry to put the cloak over her.

"Just follow me," Harry said while cautiously standing up, not wanting the cloak to reveal their feet, which would be a dead giveaway.

Harry and Ginny made their way on the edge of the battle zone, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a spell.

Once they made it to the Death Eaters unscathed, Harry made the motion for Ginny to not make any noise.

"Where'd he go?" yelled Greyback.

"He was here a little bit ago," said a confused Avery, trying to deduce where Harry might have hidden in the vast Diagon Alley.

"Well, if he's not here, we'll just have to get rid of this lot and go," said Greyback, grinning.

"Harry!" said Ginny in a barley audible whisper, fearing for her family.

"Shhhh!" said Harry who didn't want to give themselves away.

"Who first?" asked Lestrange in a mocking tone.

"We'll fight to the death," said George who didn't want Fred to have died in vain.

"Well, that makes things quick then. Death is near, for you guys," said Greyback.

"Why not eat the girls, and we'll use the curse on the rest?" asked Avery.

"Yes, we have unfinished business," Greyback to Hermione. She gave him a stony look, but the look was only a mask. She was terrified on the inside. _What if Harry didn't save us on time? Why did Harry leave us, with the Death Eaters? He didn't leave us willingly, _Hermione thought. _He would never; he's probably just doing something sneaky, trying to sneak up on the Death Eaters. _Then it dawned on her, he still had the invisibility cloak, and he disappeared when he pulled Ginny behind one of the stands. He was probably under the cloak with Ginny, sneaking up on them. _But where? What if one of us or the Death Eaters hit them and nobody would know? _Hermione stopped throwing spells out immediately.

"What are you doing?" hissed Ron, concerned that Hermione would get hit for her lack of defense.

"Harry's under the invisibility cloak. We might hit him!" she responded even quieter.

"Shhhh! They'll hear you!" he responded.

"What are you whispering about?" snarled Greyback.

Ron and Hermione had no chance to respond, for somewhere behind the Death Eaters, two stunning spells were cast, aiming at Greyback and Avery. Neither had any time to react before the spells reached them. And when Lestrange realized what was happening, he raised his wand to kill them both, when yet another spell was cast from behind him.

"Wha-?" he said, dazed. Then, the stunning spell hit him, causing him to slump over on top of the other two.

"Harry!" said Hermione, a smile growing.

"We did it!" said Ginny, kissing Harry on the lips. When they broke apart, Hermione was beaming and Ron along with the rest of the Weasley brothers were giving Harry skeptical looks. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked happy for their daughter.

"We need to go open up the doors in," said Charlie, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," said Harry awkwardly. He still didn't know if Ginny's brothers were OK with him dating Ginny. He was fairly certain that they knew about him breaking her heart, but he didn't know if they knew his motives.

They went to the Leaky Cauldron first, excluding George and Charlie, who stayed with the Death Eaters, and Ron and Hermione, who went to look for Dolohov. When they finally broke open the porthole, the Leaky Cauldron was a sorry sight.

Tom, the barkeeper, was stunned, and slumped over the counter. A dozen or so guest were lying on the floor, or sleeping with their heads on the table.

"Oh," said Mrs. Weasley, putting her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Let's go," said Harry, not wanting to stay any longer.

"Where are we going?" asked Ginny, sad at the sight as well.

"The Ministry of Magic. They need to know what happened," Harry said, making his way to the door.

"And we will get there by …" asked Ginny.

"Apparting," he responded, holding open the door for the Weasley women.

Once they made it to the alley near the bar, Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and turned apparting away with a crack.

Harry made it to the phone booth, waiting for Mrs. Weasley, who arrived in seconds.

"How do we get in?" asked Mrs. Weasley, who had never gone into the Ministry of Magic using the visitors entrance.

"Here," said Harry, entering the old phone booth.

"Hello, and welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and what brings you here today?" asked the automated voice in a kind voice.

"Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley and Molly Weasley. Here to speak to Minister Kingsley," stated Harry in a clear, strong voice.

"Please take your badges and don't forget to have your wands weighed in the Atrium. Thank you," said the voice as the badges spit out of the coin return slot. As that happened, the phone booth sunk into the ground.

After some moments, the lights of the Atrium began to appear in the cracks, and made their way up to the ceiling.

They exited the phone booth and made their way to the wand weighing station. Heads turned as they passed.

"Hello," said Harry, catching the security guard's attention.

"How may I help you -" said the guard, stopping when he realized who he was talking to. "Harry Potter."

"Yes. We need to speak to Minister Kingsley. Immediately," said Harry, with a tone of urgency in his voice.

"Yes, right away. May I just see your wands?" asked the guard, opening his palm for the three to put their wands in.

"Here," Harry said while handing his, Ginny's and Mrs. Weasley's wand to his outstretched hand.

He examined each wand, spending a little more time on Harry's wand than the others, and handed them back.

"I assume you know where his office is?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks." They practically ran to the lifts.

When they opened, they squeezed in the only open spots. Harry could feel eyes boring into the back of his head, as he waited for his stop. Eventually, the lift stopped on floor 1, the Minister's office.

They sprinted off the lift, turning, following the signs to the office. Soon, they found it.

"Kingsley! Kingsley!" yelled Harry.

"Harry? What is it?" asked Kingsley, standing up from his desk.

"Attack! At Diagon Alley!" said Harry breathlessly.

"We have Greyback, Avery, Rodolphus Lestrange, and possibly Antonin Dolohov, stunned in Diagon Alley," said Ginny, calmer than Harry.

"What? Let's go!" said Kingsley, bolting for the door behind Harry, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

_A/N: What do you think? It's one of my shorter chapters, I know, but I haven't posted in a while, so I thought that I would just get this one up. Please Rate and Review!_


	10. The Hidden Dungeons

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

_P.S. I can't do accents, so, try to imagine. Thanks! _

Shortly after, Kingsley, Harry, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley arrived back in Diagon Alley, with Kinsley gawking at all of the mayhem that had occurred under the Ministry's nose.

"How?" asked Kingsley. "When?"

"We were at the Joke shop, and we heard commotion. We came outside, and the four were killing everyone in their path," explained Harry.

"They said that they wanted Harry, something about finishing what their lord had started," said Ginny, clinging to Harry.

"Where are they?" asked Kingsley.

"George and Charlie should be holding them by the shop," said Mrs. Weasley, craning her neck to see if they were where they said they were. They were.

"Kingsley!" said George, happy to see _someone _who could help, and not the gawking bystanders in the shops.

"George! Great to see your spirits up," said Kingsley, eyeing the Body-Binded Death Eaters.

"Yeah, had a lot on my mind lately, ya know?" said George, only letting his eyes travel to Kingsley once in a while.

"As with me," replied Kingsley. "Are these the Death Eaters?" he said, gesturing at the stunned wizards.

"Yep. Avery, Fenrir Greyback, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Ron and Hermione are looking for Antonin Dolohov," said Charlie.

"Where are the rest of the Weasleys?" asked Kingsley, looking around.

"Getting help," replied George.

"Ah," said Kingsley.

Moments later, the remaining members of the Order ran out from around the corner.

"Where are they?" yelled Dedalus Diggle, rounding the corner.

"Right here, Dedalus," said Kingsley.

"Oh," he said, realizing that they were already caught.

"Yes. What do you think we should do with them? Until we can have a proper trial for them, of course," asked Kingsley.

"We could put them in Azkaban," offered Elphias Doge.

"You know that we can't put them there. We don't have anybody to guard it, now that the dementors aren't working there anymore. Speaking of which, what are we going to do with the dementors?" said Kingsley, pondering on the dilemmas.

"Well, as an answer to the dementor issue, we could try," said Harry, not knowing if it was the time.

"Try what? All ideas are welcome," said Hestia Jones.

"What about," Harry said warily, for the subject was touchy, "how … Sirius … died. The veil, in the Death Chamber, at the Department of Mysteries."

"Well, it separates the body from the soul, then destroys the body, but what if there's no body to destroy?" said Elphias.

"We'll have to look into that later. Now, the task at hand," said Kingsley, getting everyone back on topic.

"Yes. Who do we have here?" said Dedalus, inspecting the Death Eaters. "Fenrir Greyback, Rodolphus Lestrange and Avery. Interesting."

After eyeing the three Death Eaters for some moments, Ron and Hermione turned the corner, levitating the body of none other than Antonin Dolohov.

"We found him in a garbage can near where Harry and Ginny said that they were attacked. We think that he's dead," said Hermione, looking frazzled.

"Dead?" asked Kingsley. "Who would have killed him?"

"The others must have killed him after he tricked them," said Ginny realizing what had happened. "He saw us, but we hid under the invisibility cloak. Greyback thought he was messing with them, so he must have killed him to get back at him," she said to the confused faces.

"That's … unfortunate," said Kingsley.

"Ha! He deserves to be dead!" said Hestia, enraged. "What? Dead in a flash, versus a lifetime in Azkaban. Think about it."

"Yes, I suppose it would have been better to have him alive, so that he could give his account on what's been happening to the Death Eaters after Voldemort's fall," said Kingsley, reasoning with himself. "But, we'll have to work with what we have."

"Now, what to do with the other three," said Dedalus, circling them. "What to do …"

"How about we just keep them in the Ministry of Magic, or perhaps St Mungo's," said Elphias. "Those are possibly the safest magical places in all of Britain."

"Yes," said Kingsley. "For now, the Ministry will do. Let's go. Try to get three people per Death Eater, for safety reasons."

"What about Diagon Alley?" asked Hermione.

"We'll have to come back later," said Kingsley.

"But-" she began to protest, but saw that there was no point in arguing.

"Come on," said Kingsley, motioning at the road leading to the Leaky Cauldron.

Bill, Harry, George and Ginny took hold of Rodolphus Lestrange. Mr. Weasley, Ron and Dedalus had Avery. Hermione, Charlie, Hestia and Elphias had Greyback. And Mrs. Weasley was taking Dolohov with Percy. Kingsley was taking up the rear.

When they made it to the Leaky Cauldron, they paused to bring back Tom and a few others.

"Try to get some of the others up too," Kingsley told Tom, who nodded smally. As the door closed, the incantation for waking someone could be heard.

"To the Ministry?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"To the Ministry," everyone responded.

Just then, the Knight Bus rounded the corner, as reckless as ever.

When the door opened, none other than Stan Shunpike stood in the door frame.

"Look who it is!" he said, although some of his usual cheer was absent.

"Stan! You're not in Azkaban anymore?" asked Harry, though his glance only wavered from Rodolphus.

"Yep. Got out two weeks ago. Under the Imperius curse, so the had to let me go," he said with his eyes lighting up.

"That's great," said Ron.

"You bet. Now, where too?" he asked.

"Ministry of Magic," said Kingsley.

"Who's the extra baggage?" asked Stan, pointing at the unconscious Death Eaters.

"Attack in Diagon Alley, these four are the ones who attacked it," said Hestia.

"Interesting, very interesting …" Stan said, dazed. "Well! Don't just stand around, I thought this was urgent."

"Oh, yes. Everybody on," said Kingsley.

All the people got on, taking a seat wherever possible. The heads of those on the bus turned as they passed, particularly when Harry and Kingsley passed.

"Let's go!" said Stan as the bus rolled into motion.

They rode in silence, with the occasional chatter from Stan or another passenger. Harry sat with Ginny cuddled in his arms. For moments at a time, Harry's mind wandered far from earth, where there was only him and Ginny. But when the bus took an unexpected turn, or someone would address him directly, he would land back on earth, with the chatty passengers.

"Here we are! The Ministry of Magic! Off you go," said Stan.

"Thanks," said Harry as he got off the bus.

"No problem … Neville," said Stan with a grin.

Once they were safely off of the bus, Ginny spoke.

"Why did he just call you Neville?" she asked. She knew that Stan knew that Harry was not Neville, but Harry. But then why would he call him Neville?

"It's sort of a joke. Remember in my third year, when I arrived at the Leaky Cauldron by taking the Knight Bus?" said Harry.

"Yes," said Ginny questioningly.

"Well, not wanting to be known as Harry, I told Stan that my name was Neville Longbottom. I guess he still remembers," said Harry with a smile.

"Well," said Ginny.

They were interrupted by Kingsley speaking.

"Everybody in! I can't hold the door open forever."

Everyone filed into the Employee's entrance for the Ministry.

The Atrium was even more packed than when Harry had been here the first time earlier that day. Word had apparently gotten around that Harry and friends had caught possibly the most-wanted-Death Eaters, and everyone wanted to see it with their own eyes. And what they saw was quite a sight. Harry, the Order, Kingsley, the Weasleys and Hermione all filing in the Atrium with three unconscious Death Eaters and one dead Death Eater.

"Where are we putting them?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"The hidden dungeons, I suppose," said Kingsley, who was completely oblivious to the crowd that had begun to gather. They were lucky that there was a no reporter policy, otherwise they would have been swamped in a heartbeat.

It only took minutes for the Ministry's security guards to clear a path to the lifts, but not without spending their fair share of time staring at the objects of interest.

They made their way to the lifts. It took three trips for everyone to make it to the hidden dungeons.

Harry had no idea that the Ministry of Magic even had a hidden dungeon, and he doubted that they ever used it much. That's what Azkaban was for. But now …

Harry's train of thought was interrupted when Kingsley announced their arrival at the hidden dungeons.

"Here we are!" said Kingsley, opening the door for everyone to file in.

"Why on earth do you have this place?" asked Ron.

"For situations like this," said Ginny. "Honestly, Ron. How thick can one person get?" she asked with a giggle.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, turning the famous Weasley red.

"Where to put them," said Kingsley, talking to himself in a barley audible tone. "Here," he said, louder than before.

Those who were carrying Death Eaters shuffled over to the cells that were supposedly being guarded by some ancient spells and curses that would prevent them from escaping.

One by one, the Death Eaters got locked away in the cells. Antonin Dolohov's body was temporarily housed in a cell as well.

After Kingsley and the Order reinforced some more spells, which took longer than necessary, in Ginny's opinion, and individual accounts on what happened, they finally got to leave the Ministry.

"Quite a day, don't you say?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Tell me about it," said Ginny, who was resting under the protection of Harry's arm.

"I think that we've had enough excitement for now," said Harry, smiling.

_A/N: What do you think? I know, postings have been slow lately, but Tuesday is my last day of school, so all the free time in the world to write will be in my hands. :) Please Rate and Review! I'll try to post soon!_


	11. Happy Birthday!

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

_This chapter will be kindof skippy, moving from different points in the Summer of 1998. I thought it would be better to have one long chapter for their summer. Enjoy! _

It was now mid-June, about a month-and-a-half sense the battle had taken place at Hogwarts on May 2nd. Harry had fallen into a happy routine for living at the Burrow.

Wake up in the morning rather early due to Ron's unusually loud snoring. Go downstairs to find an empty kitchen with the exception of Mrs. Weasley, who would be busy cooking breakfast for her large family. Eat breakfast silently, with the occasional small talk from Mrs. Weasley, as the other family members slowly dropped into the kitchen for a meal. After everyone had eaten breakfast, which was usually done at 10 o'clock, most people would go outside with something to do. Such as reading a book, in Hermione's case, or laying against a tree with a certain red-head, in Harry's case. Lunch was at noon, where everyone, minus Mr. Weasley and Percy, who were always at the Ministry at this time other than on Sunday, Bill and Fleur, who were at Shell Cottage. Lunch was usually done with by 1 o'clock, so that meant Quidittch for the Weasley's and Harry. The teams didn't usually change, Harry and Ginny as seekers, Ron the keeper for their one goal post, and George and Charlie as Chasers. The games were far from predictable, though. Although Harry was the one to usually get the snitch, sometimes George wouldn't score enough goals to justify them winning, so then the victory would go to Ginny and Charlie. Hermione would usually referee, and when Bill and Fleur were visiting, Fleur would help. Bill didn't usually play, he was content to sit on the sidelines with his wife and Hermione, but he did get around to playing once in a while.

After everyone was banged up from playing, hot and sweaty from the heat, or both, they would pack up the Quidittch supplies and lock away the brooms for the night. Then, they would all settle down in the sitting room or go back outside, though most seemed to prefer the cool sitting room to the boiling yard. But being in the sitting room had its consequences. If Mrs. Weasley caught you looking the slightest bit bored, you would be sentenced to some undesirable chore. The worst that Harry had gotten yet was having to de-gnome the garden with George and Ron. After that, Harry made a point to always be doing something, even if it was simply laying on the couch with Ginny's head on his chest.

The Weasley brothers still didn't look too pleased about Harry's display's of affection for Ginny, but at least they didn't say anything out loud about it.

One day in early July, something none of the Weasley children thought would ever happen occurred. Percy brought home his girlfriend.

When Percy and Mr. Weasley came home from work one day, there was an extra person in their party.

"Who's this?" asked Mrs. Weasley. Ever sense the war had ended, she was very picky about who she let in her house, because there was always somebody wanting to see Harry in the flesh.

"Mom, I would like for you to meet my girlfriend, Audrey," said Percy. If he was at all embarrassed, he didn't show it.

"_Girlfriend?_" screeched all of the young Weasleys. By far, George looked the most shocked, while Ginny looked the least. Hermione looked happy that Percy found a girlfriend, as Ron's mouth was catching flies with it's large hole. Charlie had eyes the size of galleons, and Mr. Weasley had a look on his face that said 'I wanted to tell you, but Percy made me keep it a secret.' Well, Harry at least _thought_ that's what it was saying.

"Yes," said Percy, looking a little hurt by the shocked expressions on his siblings faces. "She works at the Ministry as well, in the Department of Magical Education. We've been going out since mid-June."

"That's great, Percy," said Mrs. Weasley. She was beaming that her son had found someone to make him happy, seeing as he hasn't been the same since Fred had died.

"Would it be all right if she stayed for dinner?" asked Percy.

"Of course it would!" said and excited Mrs. Weasley. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, so why don't you wait in the sitting room?"

"Thanks," said Audrey. Audrey had shoulder length hair, the exact same color of chestnuts. Her eyes were a deep blue, with thin, brown eyebrows resting above them. She had a tall, lean frame, one that you probably didn't get from working in the Department of Magical Education.

She settled next to Percy in one of the sitting room's love seats. She was holding Percy's hand in an affectionate kind of way, and Percy was smiling at her.

"Hi," said Ginny, breaking the silence.

"Hello. You must be Ginny," said Audrey in a polite voice.

"How'd you guess?" she asked playfully. If you already knew the family's names, and had to place them, Ginny's was by far the easiest, her being the only girl of the family.

"Intuition," said Audrey, returning the smile. "And I'm assuming that you're Charlie?" she said, addressing him.

"Yep," he said.

"You're Ron, and that leaves George," she said turning to each of them.

"Correct!" said George, as though she had answered all of the questions right on a game show.

"Know who I am?" asked Hermione jokingly. Of course she knew who she was, almost everybody did these days.

"Hermione Granger," replied Audrey. Either Percy spoke of his family often, or she was very up to date on the news. Both events were equally likely.

"Right," she replied.

"And you must be Harry." Harry liked Audrey already. She chose to address him as Harry, a normal boy at his friend's home, and not Harry Potter, the savior of the Wizarding world.

"Yep," said Harry. He had the feeling that Audrey knew that he wanted to just be treated like a regular boy, and she was giving him just that.

"Pleased to meet you all." Most of the people in the room could tell that Audrey was perfect for Percy. She was very polite to everyone, just like Percy. And she would probably be able to keep Percy from being _too _annoying.

After she had guessed everyone's names, they sat in silence, not knowing what to talk about next and also because Audrey and Percy were goggling at each other. Harry was glad when Mrs. Weasley called them into the kitchen to eat.

Dinner was great. They all ate outside because the kitchen was too small to hold their large party. They talked about everything, from the happenings at the Ministry, to Quidittch. Turns out, Audrey was a Quidittch player herself, she played chaser when she could, but also was a skilled keeper. _So that's where she got her figure from_, Harry thought.

Once dinner was finished, they all went back to the sitting room, still having conversational topics to discuss. Only when Mrs. Weasley pointed out how late it was did Audrey get up to leave, but not before promising Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that she would be back to visit soon.

After Audrey left, Percy retired to his room for the night. Harry and Ron also went up to their shared room.

"Who'd've thought," said Ron once they had reached his room. "For Percy to get a girlfriend."

"He did have that one girl," said Harry, straining his memory for her name. "Penelope, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess. But she was different, ya know?"

"Yeah, I guess." They both lay in silence, slowly drifting to sleep.

Audrey visiting had worked it's way into the Burrow's daily routine. She would visit every Saturday, and occasionally on Sundays, but usually not on weekday's, because she worked then at the Ministry. Whenever she visited, she would play Quidittch with them, because she didn't have any siblings to play with herself, and he parents never played. She was indeed, a skilled keeper and chaser. She usually wouldn't play unless Bill was there, otherwise the teams were uneven. When Audrey was there, Bill played more often.

July went by all too fast for Harry, because before he knew it, it was a week before his birthday.

One day, after lunch, Mrs. Weasley cornered him.

"What would you like to do for your birthday, dear?"

"Nothing, really." Harry really did want nothing for his birthday. He was perfectly content to just spend the day with the Weasleys and Hermione at the Burrow.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Maybe we could just have some friends over, but I'm just fine spending the day with your family."

"OK, you can go, now."

Harry was anxious all week. He didn't know what to expect for his birthday. He never really had much of a party. His birthday had been placed inconveniently, and with the looming threat of Voldemort's rise to power, there wasn't really time for a party.

On the morning of July 31st, Harry woke up bleary-eyed. Today, he had not been woken up by Ron's snoring. Suspicious, Harry turned over in his bed and grabbed his glasses, wanting to see clearly. Once on, he turned his head to look at Ron's bed, only to see it empty. Ron rarely ever got up before Harry, not even on their life-threatening Horcrux hunt. Harry decided to get up and look for Ron.

After pulling on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt, Harry made his way downstairs. The kitchen was also empty. Strange. Harry checked the time, 10:15; Mrs. Weasley would normally be up, cooking for at least five people now. Harry checked the rest of the house, and much to his dismay, every room was empty.

After being ready to give up, Harry checked the last possible place that they could be, the yard. When Harry opened the door, he was taken aback by what he saw.

"Surprise!" yelled about fifty people, all here to celebrate Harry's birthday. _Of course, Mrs. Weasley couldn't hold back planning me a party. _Harry thought.

Harry waked further into the yard, taking a survey of who was attending. He saw of course the Weasleys and Hermione. He also saw Hagrid, Audrey, Neville and Gran, Luna and her father, to his shock, Professor McGonagall, Fleur, Kingsley, Ollivander, and most of the people in Harry's year. But the biggest shock of all was Dudley Dursley, standing in the back. Harry's jaw threatened to fall off in shock.

"Happy eighteenth, Harry," said Ginny, coming up to stand beside him.

"Thanks," he said, kissing her softly on the lips. "Who's idea was this? Yours, or Mrs. Weasley's?" asked Harry.

"All me. Mum said that you wanted a small party, but you know me . . ." she said smiling.

Harry made his way into the party, stopping to say hello to people.

"Hello, Harry!" Harry turned around to see Luna Lovegood. "Having a good birthday?" she asked with her dreamy smile.

"Yeah. How've you been?" Harry asked. the last time he had seen her was at shell cottage, when he was planning his break in at Gringotts.

"Rather well. Father and I are planning to go looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Unfortunately our horn of one went missing," she said.

Harry had a feeling that her father didn't tell her about what had happened at her house during the time that she was captured at Malfoy Manor.

"Best of luck to you both," said Harry. There was one person who he really wanted to speak to.

It took Harry a while to make it to where Dudley was standing, because he had to stop and talk to so many people.

"Dudley?" said Harry, catching his cousin's attention.

"Happy birthday, Harry," said Dudley.

"Who invited you here?" asked Harry.

"She did," he said, pointing to Ginny, who in turn smiled sheepishly.

"I thought that you might want to see your cousin," she said.

"I guess you're right. I have been meaning to talk to you," said Harry. Before Harry could speak again, Dudley spoke.

"I'm so sorry." They were only a few words, but they cut deep.

"What?" asked Harry. Never, in a thousand years, did he expect Dudley to be apologizing to him at his birthday party.

"I'm sorry, for the way my parents and I have treated you. You didn't deserve any of it, and I wish more than ever that I could take it all back," said Dudley.

Harry couldn't believe it. Dudley was sorry for what he has done.

"Do you forgive me?" asked Dudley.

"How could I not?" asked Harry, briefly hugging his cousin.

"Thanks. I'm sorry about being here for such a short time, but I have to go. Mom doesn't know that I'm here. She would probably kick me out if she did, though," said Dudley, smiling.

"Of course. Maybe I could stop by some time?" asked Harry.

"Sure," said Dudley, turning to leave. "See ya later."

"Why?" Harry asked Ginny, once he was sure that Dudley was out of earshot.

"I told you earlier, I thought that you might want to see your cousin," said Ginny. "Come on, we can't stand here all day."

Harry and Ginny walked into the thick of the party once again, and everyone who hadn't stopped to speak to Harry earlier was taking the time to now. After a couple of hours of talking and mingling, it was time for presents.

The best present that Harry received, in his opinion, was a new firebolt from the Weasleys and Hermione.

After presents had been opened, Mrs. Weasley brought out the cake, in the shape of a lightning bolt. Harry laughed lightly at this. The lightning bolt was his mark for being one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. But even though he was no longer a Horcrux, Harry still bore the lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

The party went on for a little while longer after that, and around 4 o'clock, the guest started to leave. The last to exit was Hagrid. Afterwards, with just a flick of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's wands, all of the mess left over from the party had vanished.

Everyone made their way inside, because it was nearing 80°, and many of them couldn't take much more of the heat.

Harry decided to spend the rest of the day indoors with Ginny. They both lay down near the hearth snuggled in each other's arms, reading. Ron and Hermione were in a similar position, only on a couch and Ron wasn't going anywhere near a book. George was holed up in his bedroom, most likely working on some new Weasley Wizard Wheezes product. Bill and Fleur had gone home for the evening, and Percy was on a date with Audrey. Charlie was playing Wizard Chess with Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen.

The rest of the day passed slowly, relating to the excitement of earlier in the day. Of course the Daily Profit knew that it was Harry's birthday, and they had a special article for him. Harry would have rather not had one at all, but he needed to count his blessings. At least this one wasn't on the front page. Ginny pointed it out to him later after dinner.

"Hey, Harry. Come here," said Ginny, patting the seat next to her.

"What is it?" Harry asked, walking over.

"Read this article," said Ginny.

"OK," Harry said hesitantly, he rarely ever read the Daily Profit anymore, it was mostly articles about him and Voldemort, and those didn't interest him.

_Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived_

_Life through the Ages_

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Just keep reading," said Ginny, smiling at Harry's situation.

_Harry Potter, known to many as the Chosen One or the Boy Who Lived, has defeated Voldemort once and for all on May 2__nd__, 1998. He shocked all Wizards of the world by killing him with the disarming spell, and not one of the Unforgivable Curses. Today, we have top reporter __A. Fenetre is here to tell us about the famous Harry Potter's life at Hogwarts._

_From year one at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry has had run-ins with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. During year one, Harry went on the quest for the Philosopher's Stone with fellow first-year friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. He was trying to recover it before You-Know-Who had it for eternal life. The stone is currently destroyed, as with it's two creators._

_In his second year, the heir of Slytherin has returned through his diary. He possessed a female student, who is unknown. Harry went into the Chamber of Secrets to rescue her, kill the Basilisk, and destroy the heir. It is also unknown how he destroyed the heir, and who the heir was._

_Year three Harry was the victim of mass-murderer and Azkaban breakout, Sirius Black. As told to by Harry Potter himself, Sirius Black was never guilty, but that it was all Peter Pettigrew, friend of deceased James and Lily Potter as well as Black. Pettigrew was secret-keeper to the Potter family, betraying their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And that Black was just trying to avenge his friends by killing Pettigrew, with the help of lifelong friend to the Potters, Pettigrew and Black, Remus Lupin. All are deceased._

_Harry's fourth year held the Tri-Wizard Tournament, that hadn't been held in hundreds of years. Harry was the extra Hogwarts Champion, who's name was put in by escaped Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. Harry won the games, but fellow Champion, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by You-Know-Who during his return._

_Year five at Hogwarts was not enjoyable to Harry, according to friends of Harry. Nobody believed Harry's story, so he along with Headmaster Albus Dumbledore were the subject of many jokes. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named return was brought into the light when he broke into the Department of Mysteries to retrieve a prophecy, whose contents are unknown. It was there that Black died._

_Harry's sixth year was his last year attending Hogwarts. It was then that Albus Dumbledore was murdered by fellow professor Severus Snape. Harry made it clear that Snape was to be remembered as a hero. The school was attacked by Death Eaters who entered with the help of Slytherin student, Draco Malfoy. _

_It is unknown what happened during Harry, Ron and Hermione's absence from school, but all that is known is that the trio returned for the final battle, defeating You-Know-Who once and for all._

_Harry is currently residing with the Weasleys._

"Really?" said Harry. He didn't need these articles.

"Yep," she replied, looking smug.

The summer was passing way too fast for Harry. All he wanted was to spend a lifetime with those that he loved most.

One day in early August, Harry was spending a lazy day with Ginny under the shade of an apple tree.

"Harry?" asked Ginny, looking up to meet Harry's eyes.

"What is it?" said Harry.

"Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" she asked. _Should I know what day it is tomorrow? _Harry thought.

"Ummmm August 11th?" said Harry confused.

"Anything else?" she asked.

Harry was starting to get a funny feeling about this. He really didn't know what tomorrow was supposed to be, and she was acting like it was something extremely important.

"Should there be anything else?"

"No, I guess not." She looked down, disappointed. "I have to go."

"See ya," Harry said confused. He was racking his brain for any important days that might be happening tomorrow.

When Harry looked up, he saw the screen door to the Burrow slam closed. _What did I say?_

After sitting under the tree for a while and not being able to come up with any reason, he decided to go inside and ask Ron or Hermione. They might know.

Before Harry could ask anyone, Mrs. Weasley called everyone down for dinner. Harry had to endure a dinner filled with glares from Ginny, and occasionally Hermione, which implied that Ginny spoke to Hermione about it, too. But it was only those two, so the other Weasley's didn't know.

After one of the worst dinners that Harry had ever sat through at the Weasley's, Harry excused himself from the table and went upstairs to Ron's room. When Harry opened the door, he found Ron and Hermione snogging.

Harry cleared his throat, and the two broke apart. Both looked a little red, but nowhere near as red as Harry.

"Can talk to you, alone, Hermione?" asked Harry, who was studding the walls around him.

"Sure, where can we . . ." said Hermione.

"I'll leave, don't worry," said Ron who was standing up to leave.

Once Harry was sure that Ron was out of earshot, he spoke.

"Hermione, what day is it tomorrow?" he asked, feeling kindof stupid.

"So you really don't know?" she asked in astonishment. So Ginny had spoken to her about it.

"Yes." Harry was red from embarrassment, and staring at the floor.

"It's Ginny's birthday, Harry. Her seventeenth birthday is tomorrow," Hermione was looking at Harry with concern. For one, that he had no idea when the love of his life's birthday was, and for what Ginny would do to Harry if he didn't fix things with her. "When she told me that you said that you had no idea what tomorrow was, I thought that you were planning a surprise or something, not that you had forgotten."

"What am I going to do?" pleated Harry. He didn't want for Ginny to think that he indeed had forgotten, even if it was true.

"Honestly, I don't know. Something romantic, probably. Yes, she would like something romantic," said Hermione. "Harry, you have less than twenty-four hours, what are you going to do?"

"That's what I'm asking you!" said an exasperated Harry.

"Maybe you should sleep on it?" suggested Hermione.

"I don't know," said Harry. "I could just apologize."

"But it would be more meaningful if you did something, like a dinner," said Hermione.

"I don't know. But thanks anyway, for telling me." Harry was about to leave, but then he realized, "This is my room."

"Oops. Then I guess I'll be the one leaving," said Hermione. She opened the door and left Harry to his thoughts.

Harry was stuck on one idea in particular. He thought that it would be romantic, but get his point across. So that's the one that he settled on. He went to bed with Ginny on his mind.

_A/N: LONGEST CHAPTER SO FAR! I'm so excited! I have just created the longest chapter in my series so far! 3,734 words! I would have made it longer, but I felt that a cliff hanger was needed. Suspense is what keeps you reading! Earlier today, I saw this awesome musical called 'A Very Potter Musical.' I laughed so hard! It combined the plots of the 1__st__, 4__th__, 6__th__ & 7__th__ books into a humorous musical. I'll try to post soon. Please Rate and Review! _

_And P.S. I'm posting my When the War is Over story in other languages. So far I have the first few chapters in Spanish! _


	12. Luna's Wonderland

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

_Ginny's Point of View_

This was not how she imagined her seventeenth birthday to go. She didn't imagine that she and Harry wouldn't be talking. She had always imagined her spending the entire day with him, smiling and having a good time. She didn't think that she would be cowering behind her mask that she called a face, hoping that nobody would know of her despair that Harry had forgotten her most important birthday. She had tried to reason with herself reasons not to be angry with Harry, but it hadn't made her feel any better. She knew that she would probably have to forgive Harry sooner or later, but she chose later. Even though it broke her heart to pieces to stay mad at him, she had to show him that he had done something to upset her.

Her birthday party would have been wonderful, if she wasn't mad at Harry. She had to look pleased for everyone, but on the inside she was crying for Harry to come back to her, and take her in his arms and sooth her, saying that everything was OK, even when it wasn't.

Ginny thought that the party was bad, but being home with the family (and Harry,) was hell. Because at home, she didn't have the distraction of her friends and family.

She was curled up in her room, crying silent tears when Hermione walked in.

"Ginny," said Hermione, sitting down next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?" She started to rub Ginny's back repeatedly.

"No, I guess not. But all that I want is to be back with Harry," said Ginny miserably.

"If it makes you feel any better, Harry feels miserable, too," said Hermione.

"He is?" said Ginny, temporarily drying her eyes so that they were free to meet Hermione's.

"Yes," said Hermione. "Now, do you want to sit here all day, or do you want to go out?"

"Out," said Ginny, smiling for real for the first time since yesterday. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Well, Luna has invited us over for dinner," said Hermione. "But, she also invited over Harry and Ron, but they don't have to come."

"That sounds great." Ginny stood up to leave, but Hermione stopped her.

"Not meaning to sound rude or anything, but you look horrible," said Hermione, trying to suppress a laugh.

Ginny looked down at her appearance, and Hermione was right. Her hair was matted down from sleeping, her eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying, and her face was blotchy for the same reasons, and her clothes were wrinkled.

"You're right. I'll meet you downstairs in half an hour?" said Ginny.

"Yep. And I'll tell your mum where we're going," said Hermione. In seconds, she was gone.

_Harry's Point of View_

Hermione walked upstairs to Ron's room. When she opened the door, she ran dead on into Harry.

"Did you ask her? Did she say yes?" asked Harry. If she had said no, he would have to re-work the entire plan.

"Don't worry, Harry. She's getting ready. We leave in half an hour for Luna's. You're gonna be fine. The worst that could happen after that is that she'll say no." Once Hermione said that, she wanted to take it back. The hurt look on Harry's face told it all. To Harry, there was no worse thing than her declining his apology. "Oh, Harry. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's fine," said Harry, who suddenly found an interest in the floor boards.

"Hey, it'll be OK," said Hermione, smiling softly.

"Ya. I have to go start getting ready. Are you sure that Luna knows the plan?" said Harry. He was always thinking of every last detail that could go wrong.

"She knows. Honestly. You're just gonna over think things. Just focus on your half and me on mine. Now, I have to go," said Hermione, turning around to go downstairs.

Harry turned around and closed the door. Now, all he had to do was wait for Ginny and Hermione to leave.

_Ginny's Point of View_

When she would visit Luna's house as a kid, it wasn't always the most enjoyable experience. Luna would make some weird comment about how infected Ginny was with some made up creature, and Ginny would end up going home crying. But since Hogwarts, Luna had become one of Ginny's best friends. She was always there for her, and she didn't care how cool they were.

She was downstairs in thirty minutes, ready to leave her home of sorrow.

"Ready to go?" asked Hermione, standing up to leave. "Turns out that we can't stay for dinner, but we can still stay there until then."

"Fine by me," said Ginny. Whatever it took to get out of the same house as Harry.

"C'mon," said Hermione.

They walked outside past the appartation point, and were swarmed with hundreds upon hundreds of witches and wizards. Apparently the rules regarding wizards not exposing themselves to muggles didn't apply now, or else they would make less of a scene Apparting to the border or flying in on broomsticks. It took less than two seconds for the people to realize who they were.

"Hermione! Ginny! Over here!" Any reporter within a 100 feet radius swarmed them both with questions on any topic from 'What's your least favorite spell?' to 'When do you wake up in the morning?'

Hermione and Ginny chose to answer none of the questions. They just tried to get out as fast as possible.

When they finally got to the comfort of inside the wards at the Lovegood's home, they were worn out. The reporters put up quite a struggle.

"Hermione! Ginny! Great to see you!" Luna swayed out of the front door. Their house had been newly redone, for their old house had been blown up the last time that Harry, Ron and Hermione visited. The memory brought chills down Hermione's spine. Luna's father had turned them in. But Hermione was going to put it behind her, because he had done it for his daughter.

"Luna! How are you?" said Ginny.

"I'm fantastic. Happy birthday, by the way," she said, addressing Ginny.

"Thank you," said Ginny.

"What would you like to do today?" asked Luna.

"How about a walk by the stream?" suggested Hermione.

"Fine with me," said Ginny.

"Lovely," said Luna. "Follow me."

The stream really was beautiful. Assorted flowers in muted colors covered the banks of a small stream, no more than three feet across. The water was crystal clear and only a foot deep. The bottom of the stream was covered in stones. What little grass was peeking out from underneath the flowers was a beautiful Kelly Green. The scene was picturesque.

"Luna, this place is beautiful," said Ginny, gaping at the landscape.

"Yes. I've grown quite fond of this place. It's where I come to think," said Luna, gazing at passing clouds.

They laid down in the patches of flowers, not saying anything for a while, but it wasn't an awkward silence. A place like this couldn't be ruined with words.

After they were there for what Ginny guessed was an hour, Luna sat up.

"Do any of you guys want snacks?" asked Luna.

"Ummmm sure," said Ginny. Now that she mentioned it, her stomach was growling.

"Hermione, would you like to help?" offered Luna.

"Sure," said Hermione.

"Can I stay here?" asked Ginny. "I just can't get enough of this place."

"Of course. We'll be back soon," said Luna.

Ginny lay back down and resumed studding the clouds. They were magnificent. She was distracted by that when something appeared next to her. It was a rose. When she picked it up to study it closer, she saw that there was now a note attached to it.

She picked it up, only to find that it was blank.

"What?" she asked herself. "Who would send me a rose, with a blank piece of paper attached to it?"

As she said those words, beautiful, cursive script swept across the blank parchment. It said:

_To the Love of my Life,_

_You light up my world._

_Even if it seems like the day can't get any better,_

_When you walk into the room,_

_My world gets better._

_I am sorry._

It was no question on who sent this note; Harry. Ginny's heart melted like treacle tarts when she finished reading this note. He really did feel horrible, if he sent her love notes.

Ginny didn't have much time to think, because Hermione and Luna had come back with a tray of snacks.

"What's that? We don't grow that kind of flower," said Luna.

"I really don't know. It just appeared," said Ginny, offering it up to Hermione and Luna for examination.

Hermione paused to read the note. Ginny didn't know this, but Hermione and Luna had planned the whole thing out earlier with Harry.

"Judging by the note, I think that this note was written by . . ." Hermione couldn't finish because Ginny cut her off.

"Harry. I know," said Ginny. She was studding the beautiful daisies now, but they suddenly not as interesting as they were before the rose had appeared.

"Are you still not talking?" asked Luna. Leave it to her to go right out and speak her mind.

Ginny mumbled a response that was supposed to be a yes.

"The longer that you stay mad, the less willing you will be to get back together." Another piece of thoughtful insight from Luna Lovegood.

"But I'm not mad at him," said Ginny.

"Then why are you still avoiding him?" asked Luna.

"It's . . . complicated. I don't know why I'm still avoiding him." Ginny didn't really want to avoid him, but something in her gut told her that it was something that she needed to do.

"It can't be that complicated. Either you're mad at him, or you're not," said Luna.

"I guess that I'm not mad at him, then," said Ginny.

"If you're not mad at him, why are you acting like you are?" asked Luna. "Feelings aren't that complicated."

"At least they shouldn't be. Maybe I'm just over-complicating things. Ya know?" said Ginny.

"You might be. Do you want to know what I would do, in a time like this?" asked Luna.

"What?" Ginny was ready to try anything.

"Empty your mind of all thoughts. It works for me," said Luna. She had set down the snacks now, and was laying down again.

"I'll try." Ginny was doubtful that it would work, but in a matter of minutes, Ginny's mind was lost. It was swimming in a pool of nothing. No thoughts of Harry, or anything else. It was the best that she had felt since before she had left Harry. Ginny's mind was jolted back to reality when she realized, _this is all my fault._ She was the one that left Harry. She was the one that over-reacted, by storming out on him and not telling him what was happening today. This brought on the tears.

"Ginny?" asked Luna. This was one of the first times that she had seen her cry. "What is it?"

"Nothing," said Ginny who began to frantically wipe her tears away.

"It can't be nothing. Nothing wouldn't have caused tears." Luna was smart when it came to other's feelings.

"Whatever. Let's forget it," said Ginny.

"Do you know what time it is?" asked Hermione.

"Ummmm," said Ginny. "No."

"It's five. What time did you say you had to leave?" said Luna. How she knew the time when she didn't have a watch Ginny didn't know.

"Oh. We have to go. C'mon Ginny." Hermione stood up from the flower bed. The flowers underneath were matted down. Ginny stood up as well.

"Luna, this was fun. We need to do this again," said Ginny.

"You're always welcome here," said Luna.

"Thanks. You can come to my house any time, too," said Ginny.

The walk back to the appartation point was calming. They passed more beautiful landscapes that were like the one by the stream.

Once they made it past the appartation point, things weren't so pretty. The reporters had heard 'rumors' that Ginny and Hermione were at the Lovegood's house, so reporters were crowded around the appartation point. Hermione and Ginny tried to be as discreet as possible in leaving, but it wasn't sneaky enough. They saw them leaving immediately.

They were bombarded with similar questions to when they were arriving. The girls didn't stick around long, though. They apparted away as soon as magic would allow. The Burrow wasn't much better, though. They had to push their way in, and the reporters weren't too happy about it.

"You're back!" said Mrs. Weasley. She was always nervous whenever someone left the house for fear of the reporters keeping them.

"We're fine mum," said Ginny.

"Really, Mrs. Weasley. We only went to Luna's," said Hermione.

"Well, no matter. Go upstairs and get washed up for dinner," Mrs. Weasley said. The three of them went inside for dinner.

Dinner was already cooking, Ginny could tell from the smell.

Ginny went straight up to her room when she got inside. She couldn't afford to see Harry now. But incidentally, Harry was nowhere to be found. Ginny didn't find this particularly odd, though. He did have other people to visit. But this was to Ginny's advantage, because she was sure that if she saw him, she would break down. She had to hold her ground.

When she entered her room, she found another rose on her pillow. And like the other rose, there was a blank piece of parchment attached to it.

"Wonder what this one says," said Ginny. She walked over to the rose, and picked it up. "How do you activate the words?"

"Ummmm," she said, not knowing what to do next.

She didn't have to think much harder, because the same cursive type appeared on the parchment.

_When I first kissed you,_

_I felt complete._

_My life was whole,_

_Unlike ever before._

_It was the happiest day in my life,_

_When you said that you loved me._

_I am sorry._

This one was even sweeter than the one before. This one had even more feeling behind it. But it brought on even more feelings for Harry. She wanted him more than ever. She wanted to pull him in her arms, to tell him how much she loved him.

She didn't know how long that she stood there, thinking of Harry, until Hermione came into her room.

"Ginny? You OK?" she asked. Hermione was craning her neck to see what was in Ginny's hands. "What's that?"

"Another rose," said Ginny.

"From Harry?"

"Probably."

They stood there for a few silent moments, until Mrs. Weasley called for them to come down.

Harry wasn't at dinner that night either. But when Ginny asked about his absence, she always got a vague response. No straight forward answers.

Ginny was giving up hope of seeing Harry and apologizing. She had not seen him since the party, and everyone said that he wouldn't be coming back until later, but later could be any time.

As Ginny left the sitting room in defeat, she saw another rose appear on the table. When Ginny went closer to investigate, she saw that there was no note attached this time.

Then, another rose appeared, floating in mid-air next to the back door. Ginny walked closer to see. Then she saw that the outside was lit by glowing orbs. This was by far the weirdest birthday ever.

Deciding that she had nothing to lose, she followed the path that the orbs made. They lead their way around the corner. Ginny caught her breath when she rounded the corner.

It was another rose. Ginny's heart fell. She was so sure that was going to be Harry. She walked over to the rose, and picked it up. After she examined it for a moment, finding that there was again, no note attached, she was about to turn around to go inside when she felt the familiar tug behind her naval. This could only mean one thing: this rose was a portkey.

Her mind was racing. _Was this a trick? Were the Death Eaters taking her? _Then her thoughts became less cynical. _What if Harry was behind all of this._

After a short trip, Ginny fell back towards earth. She landed in a beautiful place. Flowers, a crystal clear stream. _Where have I seen this place before?_ Then she remembered. This was the beautiful stream that she had visited earlier with Hermione and Luna. But what was she doing at Luna's place?

"Ginny." Ginny's head jerked to the left, and her heart stopped. Harry was standing there, a look that was a cross between joy and anxiety.

"Harry!" Ginny ran at him with him, not a care in the world.

"Ginny!" said Harry. As he embraced her, a huge smile spread across his face. He had not thought that it would be this easy.

Harry was about to say more, but Ginny silenced him by pressing her lips against her's. They stayed embraced for what could have been hours, but no one cared. They were both content to stay in each other's arms for all time, but Harry broke off.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry. I'll admit that I didn't know that it was your birthday, but I should have known," said Harry.

"And I overreacted," Ginny pointed out.

"No, I think your reaction was reasonable. I should have known," said Harry.

"No. How would you have? I mean there was always the threat of Voldemort . . ." said Ginny, but she was cut off by Harry kissing her.

They stayed in each other's arms until well after midnight, and they only left after Ginny realized what time it was.

"Harry! It's midnight, we need to get back to the Burrow," said Ginny. She began to sit up, but Harry pulled her back down.

"It's OK. We're inside the wards, and I told your parents that we would be here all night," said Harry.

"You planned all of this, didn't you?" asked Ginny. "You planned for me to go to Luna's, and find the rose, and to take the portkey! Didn't you!"

"Maybe, but what does it matter?" said Harry. The look on his face told it all. He did plan everything.

"It matters to me," said Ginny.

"OK." They sat silently for what seemed like hours, but Ginny was far from bored. She was swallowed in her own thoughts.

Ginny was laying, with her head on Harry's chest, as Harry stroked her hair.

"Ginny?" said Harry softly.

"Yeah?" she temporarily took her head off of Harry's chest so that she could look at Harry's emerald green eyes.

"You need some sleep." The truth was that Ginny was tired, but she didn't want to fall asleep, for fear that this was all a dream.

"But I'm not tired." This lie was quickly called when Ginny yawned. "Alright, maybe I'm tired."

"Go to sleep," said Harry. "I'll be here all night."

Ginny thought about it for a second, and decided that she was too tired to go back to the Burrow.

"G'night, Harry," she said before laying her head on Harry's chest, using it as a pillow.

"Goodnight Ginny," said Harry.

Ginny didn't know what time she went to bed, but she didn't care. When she woke up the next morning, she had the best night of sleep ever. She looked up to check if last night was all a dream to find Harry looking fondly down at her.

"'Morning Harry."

"'Morning, Ginny. Sleep well?"

"Yes. You?"

"I've never slept better." Harry was smiling exuberantly.

"That's good to know," said Ginny.

"What's the plan for today?" asked Harry.

"No plan?" asked Ginny jokingly.

"None," said Harry.

"I'm perfectly happy to just stay here," said Ginny.

"Me too. But I think that there's people out there who would notice our disappearance. And I think that Luna will want her spot back."

Ginny laughed, then pulled Harry into a hug.

"I missed you all day," said Ginny.

"Then why were you ignoring me?" asked Harry.

"I really don't know. I guess I felt like you deserved it," said Ginny.

"Like I deserved it? The Chosen One, who defeated Voldemort, deserves to be ignored by his favorite girl?" said Harry.

"Am I really your favorite girl?" asked Ginny, ignoring the other part of his response.

"How could you not be?" said Harry as he kissed her head.

"I don't know. It could have been Hermione or someone else . . ." said Ginny.

"I could have been anyone, but I don't love any of them as much as I love you." Ginny heart melted. _I am Harry Potter's favorite girl!_

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you, too," said Ginny as she reached her head upwards so that her lips met Harry's in a soft kiss.

They stayed in the beautiful flowerbed until the sun was high in the sky.

Ginny's and Harry's stomachs began to growl, signaling lunchtime.

"Should we go back to the Burrow for lunch, or eat here?" asked Harry.

"Here," said Ginny. She wanted to spend all day with Harry all to herself.

"Fine by me," Harry said as he conjured a picnic basket and a blanket.

They sat down on the blanket to eat. They mostly ate in silence because they just wanted to enjoy each other's company. After they ate a filling lunch, they laid down on the blanket together.

"So when do you want to go back?" asked Harry as he played with Ginny's hair.

"Never," she replied as she buried her face in Harry's chest.

Harry chuckled. "We have to go back sometime. People would probably notice our disappearance."

"Probably," said Ginny. "But I don't care."

"Ginny," said Harry sternly.

Ginny looked up at him with her best helpless face.

"No," said Harry. He was putting his foot down, no matter how cute she looked.

"Please?" asked Ginny. It was a pointless battle, Harry was not going to give in.

"Sorry, but no. Your brothers would kill me if I ran off with you," said Harry.

"Fine," said Ginny. "But do we have to leave now?"

"Not if you don't want to," said Harry.

Ginny didn't respond, but instead she laid her head back down on Harry's chest and fell asleep with the sunlight bathing her in Luna's wonderland.

_A/N: A super long chapter! I'm so proud of myself! My story is going along great, and I hope to have many more chapters before I'm finished. Please Rate and Review!_


	13. Leaving

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

Harry had the best afternoon ever. He and Ginny spent the entire afternoon together. Neither Harry nor Ginny had wanted it to end, but they would have to leave their secret wonderland eventually. Harry didn't want to take over Luna's hideaway.

They walked to the appartation point hand in hand. When they made it there, they had to guess on how many reporters and fans would be there, because they couldn't see them past the wards.

When they walked past it, there were less reporters than there were at the Burrow, but still enough to cause a small riot.

They were bombarded with questions regarding what they were doing here together when they weren't seen entering.

"Should've brought the invisibility cloak," Harry said to Ginny as they tried to appartate away.

"Yeah," said Ginny, smiling softly.

Harry grabbed onto Ginny's hand and turned on the spot. They arrived at a crazier scene at the Burrow. Harry and Ginny made a mad dash towards the wards.

Even though they were well past the wards, they were far from safe. They both still had to face the Weasley brothers. And they were waiting for their return.

"Oi! Where have you two been?" yelled Ron.

"Out all night! Not telling us where you're going?" yelled George.

"We -" started Harry, but he was cut off by more yelling.

"What does it matter to you where we've been or haven't been?" yelled Ginny. Harry should have known that she would be mad at them for being over-protective.

"You're our little sister!" yelled Charlie. "It's our job to protect you!"

"No it isn't! I can protect myself! And I was with Harry!" Great. Now Harry was being brought into their fight.

"Yeah. Why were you out all night with Harry?" asked Ron. All four of the Weasley's faces were turning red with rage.

"Because we wanted to!" yelled Ginny. "We can be anywhere we want to."

"But you're not of age!" yelled Charlie.

"Oh really? What was yesterday then?" yelled Ginny.

"Uh . . ." Charlie had to eat his own words, considering yesterday was Ginny's seventeenth birthday.

"Exactly! I'm no longer a child! I don't need protecting! Who was protecting me at Hogwarts last year? None of you!" Harry wanted to say something, but he didn't know when to cut in.

"We couldn't -" said Ron.

"Of course YOU couldn't!" said Ginny. "I can think for myself! I don't need any of you to choose what I do or don't do!"

"You still can't leave without telling someone where you're going!" said George.

"But we did! Harry told mum and dad that we were going out for the night!" said Ginny. "Right?"

"Yeah," said Harry. He finally got his word in.

"Really?" said Ron. "Then where'd you go?"

"To Luna's," said Harry.

"Why Luna's?" asked Charlie.

Harry thought that the brothers were being kind of pushy. Harry understood that it was because Ginny was their little sister that they were acting like this, and that Harry would have done the same thing for Hermione, but it really wasn't their business what he and Ginny had done in the past twenty-four hours.

"Because we wanted to!" said Ginny hotly. "Luna's my friend, and if I want to visit her, I can!"

"Fine. But we'll be watching." The brothers went back in the house defeated.

"Harry, don't worry. I won't let them hurt you," said Ginny. She pulled him into a brief hug before they both walked into the Burrow.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I think that I can protect myself," said Harry.

"Maybe," she said in a mocking tone.

Harry chose not to respond, but instead kissed her head.

"You know that I love you," said Harry.

"No. I never would have guessed," Ginny said sarcastically.

"Ha ha," Harry said flatly.

They couldn't take their eyes off of each other until they got inside.

"Hello, dears. I take it things worked out?" asked Mrs. Weasley. By the looks of it, she was preparing for dinner.

"Things worked out great," said Harry.

"That's wonderful. Dinner's in an hour," she said and returned to what she was previously doing.

"Hey, mum? Where's Hermione?" asked Ginny.

"She should be upstairs in your room," said Mrs. Weasley, not taking her eyes of the food.

"Thanks." Ginny lead Harry up to her room.

The last time that Harry had been in that room was before he had left on the Horcrux hunt.

"Er, Ginny?" asked Harry.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna go talk to Ron," he said.

"OK. See you later," Ginny said, kissing Harry softly on the lips.

"See you."

_Ginny's Point of View_

"Hermione?" asked Ginny as she opened the door.

"How did it go?" squealed Hermione. She was elated to see her best friend so happy.

"It was wonderful," Ginny said dreamily.

Hermione didn't press further for information. What happened at Luna's was between her and Harry.

Ginny didn't seem like she wanted to share much, so Hermione left soon after. Ginny was still in a daze. She was sure that one minute she would fall into a light sleep and wake up to find that everything was a dream.

_Harry's Point of View_

Harry walked into his and Ron's room not knowing what to find. But what he did find he didn't expect.

Ron was sitting on his bed with his face buried in his hands.

"Ron?" Harry asked tenderly.

"What do you want?" asked Ron. His eyes didn't look like he had been crying.

"What's the matter?" asked Harry as he sat down next to him.

"Nothing, I guess. It's just that Ginny's right. She doesn't need our protection any more," said Ron.

"She probably stopped needing your protection a long time ago, mate," said Harry.

"I know. But it's hard to let her grow up."

"I know. Hermione's been like the little sister I never had, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to her, but you and me both have to learn that they won't always need us there, and that they can protect themselves."

"Harry," Ron looked Harry in the eyes for the first time since he had left the previous day. "You're really good for Ginny. She would have eventually fallen in love, and I'm glad that it's you."

Harry didn't know if it would have mattered to Ginny if she had her brother's blessing or not, but it made Harry feel better that her brothers approved.

"Thanks mate," said Harry.

Ron was silent until Mrs. Weasley called them down for dinner.

Bill and Fleur were visiting for dinner tonight, along with Audrey, Hagrid, and Kingsley.

When Harry entered the kitchen, he saw that the table was empty.

"We're eating outside tonight," said Mr. Weasley as he passed. "Too many people for us to eat inside."

"Thanks," said Harry as he followed him outside.

Almost everyone was already seated when Harry got outside. Harry scanned the table for available seats when he saw that Ginny had saved one for him next to her. Harry smiled and walked over to his smiling girlfriend.

"Hey," said Harry. He pecked her on the cheek as he sat down.

"Hey yourself," she said back.

Dinner was quiet. There was lots of talking, but everyone avoided the topic of the war, for the sake of each other. Harry thought that Bill and Fleur looked anxious about something, but Harry couldn't guess what. After dinner was over, though, Bill and Fleur said that they had an announcement.

"I'm going to be a father!" Bill said excitedly. "Fleur's pregnant!"

"I'm going to have grandkids!" Mrs. Weasley was exuberant. "Grandkids!"

"That's fantastic!" said Ginny. She ran over to hug Fleur and her brother. She had gone a long way from when she had been calling her 'Phlegm' in her fifth year.

"How far along are you?" asked Hermione as she too hugged Fleur and Bill.

"Only a couple of weeks. We just found out this morning," said Fleur.

"So you don't know if it's a girl or boy yet?" asked Ron.

"We won't find out until October, and only then if we're lucky," said Bill. He had the biggest smile on his face Harry had ever seen.

"Either way, I'm still getting grandkids, right?" joked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes, dad," said Bill.

Harry walked up and hugged both Bill and Fleur.

"Congrats," Harry said to both of them.

"Thanks Harry," said Fleur.

Harry turned to leave, but Bill called him back.

"Harry?"

"Yes?" Harry said as he turned around.

"Well, if things work out like they should, would you and Ginny like to be the Godparents?" Harry's mouth almost dropped.

"Me?" asked Harry. "What about all of your brothers?"

"Do you really want George or Ron as a godparent?" asked Bill. He said it seriously, but Harry could sense that he was sort of joking.

"Good point." George would turn the child into a rule-breaker as soon they could walk.

"So is that a yes?" asked Fleur. Harry didn't know who had suggested that Harry be a godfather, Bill or Fleur.

"I'd be honored," said Harry.

"Great," said Bill.

"Has Ginny said yes yet?" asked Harry.

"No, but she probably will," Bill said.

"Probably," said Harry. Ginny wouldn't turn down an opportunity like this.

When Bill and Fleur turned to talk to Kingsley, Harry took it as his cue to leave. So he instead decided to look for Ginny. He didn't have to look hard, because she had already found him.

"What did they ask you?" she asked.

"Were you eavesdropping on me?" asked Harry.

"Maybe, but you still haven't answered my question. What did they ask you?" Ginny was batting her eyelashes trying to make Harry give in.

"Well, Bill and Fleur asked me," Harry said. He wasn't sure if he should tell her yet, or wait for Bill and Fleur. He decided to wait.

"Asked you what?"

"Nothing. You'll find out later." Harry felt it was safer for Bill and Fleur to tell her, rather than himself.

"Ginny! Will you come over here for a second?" Bill called for her from across the yard.

"Harry." Ginny eyed him suspiciously.

"I'm not going to tell you anything," said Harry.

"Fine," said Ginny. Reluctantly, she walked over to Bill and Fleur.

Harry watched as her face lit up, then she nodded vigorously. Harry assumed that she said yes. Then she came bolting back to Harry.

When she got to him, she practically jumped into his arms in excitement.

"We're going to be godparents, Harry!" Ginny squealed with excitement.

"I take it you said yes?" Harry asked with amusement.

"Of course I did!" she was overcome with excitement. She had always wanted to be a godparent.

"You're going to be a great godmother, you know," Harry told her.

"You're gonna be a great godfather to both Bill and Fleur's child _and_ Teddy." Harry never recalled telling Ginny that he was Teddy Lupin's godfather. Someone else must have told her.

"You really think so?" Harry was going to be the best godfather to Teddy. He didn't want to replace Remus or Tonks, but he wanted to make sure that Teddy didn't miss out on life.

"How could you not be?" asked Ginny before she kissed him softly on the lips.

Harry didn't say much more on the topic for the rest of the night. He enjoyed the festivities with everyone else until well after midnight.

After everyone went home for the night, Harry made his way inside with the rest of the Weasleys. Harry didn't linger long in the kitchen; he was worn out from the day's activities, and he needed time to think. Ginny didn't let him leave before she gave him a kiss, in which all of the Weasley brothers intentionally turned away.

"G'night Harry," said Hermione.

"'Night," said Harry.

"Goodnight." Everyone bid each other goodnight and made their way to their respective bedrooms.

Harry shuffled his way up to his and Ron's room. When he got there, all he wanted to do was collapse on his cot, but he decided that it would be smarter to change into pajamas. So after struggling into his pj's, Harry collapsed onto his bed.

He had just closed his eyes when Ron spoke.

"Harry? You awake?" Harry wanted so badly to pretend that he was indeed sleeping, and ignore Ron, but he decided otherwise.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"What did Bill and Fleur ask you and Ginny?" Harry had been sincerely hoping that he wouldn't have noticed. "I mean, Ginny seemed excited about _something_ that Bill and Fleur told her about. And I heard that it involved you."

"Er -" Harry didn't know if he should tell Ron, or if he should let Bill and Fleur break the news to the whole family. "Well – they asked if me and Ginny would be their um – baby's godparents."

"Their _what?_" Ron didn't know what to think of the idea. Harry was already Teddy's godfather, but did he have to take his own niece/nephew?

"Ron -" Harry began, hoping to explain that he hadn't asked to be their baby's godfather, but that it just happened.

"No, don't explain. I don't want to know why," Ron said. "Congratulations."

"Really?" Harry didn't expect that response.

"Really. You're going to make a great godfather," Ron said.

"Thanks," said Harry. "Now can I get some sleep?"

"Yes," Ron said, laughing.

That night, Harry dreamt that Teddy was his and Ginny's son. That they were one happy family that wasn't always in the eye of the Wizarding World. It was one of the happiest dreams that Harry had ever had.

Harry was perfectly content to stay sleeping and live in the dream world, but someone waked him.

Harry opened his eyes to find one of the Weasleys sitting on the edge of his bed. He couldn't tell who it was though, because his vision blurred the figure's identity.

"Wake up." Harry could tell who it was now, Ginny.

"What time is it?" It came out slurred because Harry was tired.

"It's ten, and mum sent me to wake you up. You're the last one up," said Ginny.

"OK. Can I get dressed?" Harry asked.

"Fine. I'll see you downstairs." Ginny bounced from the room. Ginny looked happier today than she usually was, but that could probably be explained by her now being a future godmother.

Harry was dressed in ten minutes. He walked downstairs to the kitchen slowly. He didn't know why he was so tired today than he usually was.

The kitchen was empty except for Charlie, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

"Morning, mate," said Ron with a mouthful of toast.

"Ron, don't talk with your mouth full," Hermione scolded and playfully hit him on the arm.

"Whatever," Ron said waving her away with yet another piece of toast in his mouth.

"You're impossible," said Hermione.

"But you still love me," said Ron, this time with no food in his mouth.

"I guess," Hermione said.

"Good," Ron said before pecking her on the lips.

Hermione smiled when he pulled away, and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Get a room you too," said Charlie as he walked up the stairs.

Hermione and Ron blushed when he said that.

"What do you want to do today?" asked Ginny. Harry walked over to her and took the vacant seat next to her. Harry leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"I wanted to visit my godson," said Harry, remembering the dream that he had that night.

"Teddy?" asked Ginny.

"Yep," said Harry.

"That'd be wonderful," Ginny said.

"When do you want to leave?" asked Harry.

"How about after lunch?" Ginny asked.

"Sure. Ron? Hermione? Do you want to come with?" Harry asked.

"We would love to, but we have plans. Ron's going to meet my parents," Hermione said.

"I'm _WHAT?_" Ron hadn't been in on the plans, apparently.

"You're not gonna get out of this, Ron. You are coming with whether you want to or not," Hermione said sternly.

Harry and Ginny were trying unsuccessfully to hid their laughing fits.

"And you think this is funny?" asked Ron. "Just because you'll never have to go through this?"

Harry's face became stony at Ron's comment. Of course Ginny wouldn't have to. Harry's parents were dead. Ginny and Hermione caught on immediately. Ginny put her arm around Harry in comfort, and Hermione slapped Ron across the face.

"Bloody Hell! What was that for?" Ron screeched at Hermione, who seemed completely unfazed by his sudden outburst.

"How could you be so insensitive?" Hermione yelled back with as much fury.

"What? You're the one that just slapped me!" Ron yelled back. Harry wondered how much longer it would take for someone to come downstairs from the noise.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't hex you here and now?" Ginny yelled.

"Uh, because, uh," Ron was thinking of a good reason. "Maybe because I didn't do anything?" Then he realized, "Or because you don't have your wand."

"What? Of course I have my wand," Ginny said checking her pockets. "Why'd you take my wand?"

"I didn't take your wand, or Hermione's," Ron said. He found this terribly funny.

"What?" Hermione checked her pockets, and they too were lacking a wand.

"Harry," Ginny said. She realized that he had her wand.

"I'll give it back when I know that you won't hex him," Harry said sternly. Ginny clearly thought that she could persuade Harry by appealing to him.

"Hex me for what?" Ron asked.

"But do you even know what you said? You told me that she would never have to meet Harry's parents!" Ginny yelled. While she was busy yelling, Harry took her wand from her pocket. He also took the liberty of stealing Hermione's. They were both of age now, and Ron would be on the receiving end of some unpleasant hexes if they had their wands.

"Oh, mate I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that," Ron said quickly.

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean to say that," Harry said. "Let's go outside."

Ron and Hermione walked ahead of Harry and Ginny.

"I wouldn't have let him off the hook so easily, you know," Ginny told him in a low voice.

"Yeah, but he's my best mate, Ginny," Harry explained. "Can't hold a grudge."

"I guess," she said.

The afternoon held more Quidditch matches than usual, because the day was taking a chilly turn. It was verging on 60°. They played 7 games before they were summoned inside for dinner.

After dinner was over, Harry invited Ginny out for a walk. After they were out over the hill and past Fred's grave, Ginny spoke.

"Harry, did you realize that Hogwarts starts in less than two weeks," she said.

"Really?" Harry asked. Had time really flown by this fast?

"Yes, really," Ginny said, and then she playfully slapped on the arm.

"Oh." School starting would also mean Auror training.

"What 'oh'?" Ginny asked.

"Well, you know that I'm gonna be an Auror, right?" Harry began.

"Yeah, you told me in June. What about it?" Ginny asked.

"Well, on September 1st i also go away to school," Harry said.

"What? I thought you weren't going to Hogwarts," Ginny said.

"I'm not. I'm going to Auror training camp," Harry said.

"Wha –"Ginny said, but Harry cut her off.

"For three years." Ginny's face paled.

"But we can still see you, right?" Ginny asked desperately.

Harry didn't answer.

"Right?" Ginny asked again.

"Well – no," Harry said.

"What?" she sounded hoarse. She paused, and it looked like she was debating on what to say. She finally settled on "Why?"

"I don't know their reasons, and it kills me to have to leave you," Harry said as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I just found out earlier."

"Don't be apologizing. You always apologize for something that isn't your fault." Ginny started hitting him.

"Ginny, Ginny," Harry said as he caught her fists mid-punch. "We have two weeks left. Do you really want to spend them fighting?"

"No," Ginny said before she broke down in tears. She buried her face in Harry's shirt to dry the tears.

Harry had only seen Ginny cry once, in the Chamber. She might have cried other times, but Harry hadn't been there. He didn't really know what to do, so he just pulled her in tighter. He stroked her hair softly.

"Ginny. It's not forever," Harry said. "Only three years."

"Harry," it came out muffled from her being hidden. "If I felt as if I could die when you were gone hunting, how will I feel now?"

"Ginny, here's the difference. You know that I'm coming back this time. You know that there isn't some dark wizard out to kill me this time. Afterwards, we can be together again," Harry said.

"I know, I guess," Ginny said. She sounded better, though she didn't remove hers head from Harry's chest.

"You know that I wouldn't do this if it wasn't absolutely necessary, and that I love you so much," Harry said. "Nothing will ever change that."

This brought on new tears.

"Oh, Ginny. What did I say?" Harry asked, worriedly.

"Nothing. I don't know what's wrong with me," Ginny laughed as she removed her head from Harry.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Ginny," Harry laughed.

"Ha!" Ginny said.

"What's funny about you being perfect?" Harry asked in a serious tone.

"I'm far from perfect." Ginny shook her head.

"You're perfect for me. That's all that counts," Harry said.

Ginny was about to respond, but Harry didn't let her. He pressed his lips against hers. He put enough passion in the kiss to tell her that he loved her to the moon and back, that it would kill him to be apart from her for that long, and that she _was _perfect in every way.

They stayed together for the rest of the night. Ginny had cried most of the time, staying wrapped in Harry's arms.

The sky was lit up with stars when George and Charlie found them.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" George yelled.

Charlie was about to yell more, but he stopped short when he saw Ginny. Her eyes were red from crying.

"What happened?" Charlie asked louder than necessary.

"I'd rather not talk," Ginny said. After she spoke, she put her head back down on Harry's chest.

"Harry?" George asked. He was hoping that Harry would tell him.

"If Ginny doesn't want you to know, I'm not telling either," he said as he rubbed Ginny's back.

"Yeah, well, you still have to come back with us. Mum's ecstatic with worry," Charlie said.

"OK. C'mon Ginny." Harry tried to get Ginny to stand up without success. So he instead bent down and picked her up, carrying her bride-style.

Ginny didn't protest. She just rested her head on Harry's shoulder.

The walk back took longer than it had when he first came up here earlier that night. It was probably because he was holding Ginny now.

When they arrived back at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley was truly ecstatic.

"Where have you been?" she asked when Harry and Ginny got through the door. She wasn't yelling, but she was pretty close.

"Well -" Harry began. He was never good at explaining things. "We were – er – out by the woods, and -"

Mrs. Weasley stopped him from speaking when she saw the state her daughter was in. Ginny had begun to cry again.

"Dear! What happened?" she rushed to her daughter's side.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ginny said. She laid her head back on Harry shoulder, silently saying 'I'm done talking.'

"Oh," Mrs. Weasley sounded disappointed. "Well, I guess that it's off to bed, then."

Both Ron and Hermione were at the Grangers' house tonight, so Harry had Ron's room to himself. He had gotten into his pajamas when he heard the door open. He turned around to find Ginny standing in the doorway.

"Mind if I come in?" she asked.

"No," Harry said. He pat the seat beside him his bed. Ginny walked over to him and laid down. Harry put his arm around her shoulder when she was settled in, and she in turn began to use Harry's chest as a pillow.

"You OK?" Harry asked.

"No. But will I ever really be OK?" Ginny said quietly.

"True," Harry said.

It was quiet for a while. Ginny lay there listening to Harry's heart beating, to him breathing. She wouldn't be able to see any part of him for what seemed like a century.

"Can I spend tonight with you?" Ginny asked.

"Of course," Harry said. He reached under the bed and pulled out a blanket that he then put over the both of them.

"Goodnight, Ginny," Harry said softly.

"'Night, Harry," Ginny mumbled.

She was asleep within minutes. Harry, however, stayed awake a little while longer. He stroked Ginny's hair, taking in every aspect of her. It tore his heart apart to see her in the distress that she was in tonight. He wished more than anything that he hadn't had to put her through that. Harry didn't remember falling asleep, but he woke up the next morning.

Harry looked down to find Ginny, curled up in a ball, using his chest as her pillow. She looked peaceful, she looked almost happy. His arm was around her, pulling her close.

Harry felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy about being with Ginny, and sad about having to leave her and the others for three years. He would still have Ron, though.

Harry lay there for what was probably a half hour just staring at Ginny before she began to stir.

She looked up at Harry and smiled.

"Good morning, love," Ginny said.

"Good morning," Harry replied. He kissed her hair softly. "Sleep well?"

"One of my best nights ever. How about you?" she asked.

"It would be my best night ever, but," Harry said.

"But what?" Ginny asked.

"We were in such a sad mood," Harry finished.

"Good point," Ginny said.

Harry didn't bother talking because Ginny laid her head back down on her personal pillow. By the looks of it, she didn't want to talk much.

After some time, Harry decided to speak.

"Now, do you want to get up? Or do you want to lay here all day and get caught by your brothers?" Harry asked.

"Well," she began. "If it was based on what I want, we would lay here all day. But we probably can't, so I guess let's get up."

Ginny stood up, then Harry. With a kiss on the lips, Ginny went back to her own room to get dressed.

_A/N: Wahoo! Super long chapter! 4,449 words! Sorry about the delay in posting, though. I've had guest in for the weekend and that leaves very little time for writing. Please Rate and Review!_


	14. Brooms, Trains, and Automobiles

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

When Harry walked downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast, almost everyone was already there. Only Ginny, Percy and Mr. Weasley were absent.

Harry took a seat that had a vacant one next to it for Ginny.

"Hello Harry. Sleep well?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry couldn't tell if she had found out. Harry knew that he had nothing to worry about, but the others might not think that.

"Fine, thank you," Harry said.

"That's great. What do you want for breakfast?" she asked.

"Just toast and eggs is fine, thanks," Harry said.

Mrs. Weasley had just served Harry when Ginny entered.

"Hi mum," Ginny said.

"Good morning, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said.

"What's for breakfast?" Ginny asked.

"Whatever you want," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I'll have what Harry's having," Ginny said.

"OK," Mrs. Weasley said.

"'Morning Harry," Ginny said as she sat down.

"'Morning," Harry said.

They ate in semi-silence, with only the small chatter of Mrs. Weasley and responses to her questions.

After breakfast, the door opened to reveal Ron and Hermione. Ron's arm was around Hermione's waist, and it looked like they had a good time.

"Did they like you?" Ginny asked Ron playfully.

"They loved him," Hermione said, then pecking him on the cheek.

"That's great," Harry said. "Hey, Ron? Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, mate." Harry led Ron into the vacant sitting room.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ron asked.

"Did you talk to Hermione about . . ." Harry began.

"Crap! The training!" Ron said. "What am I going to say?"

"How should I know?" Harry asked. "She's your girlfriend!"

"Did you tell Ginny yet?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked.

"What did you say?" Ron asked.

"She brought up the topic of school, and I just told her," Harry said.

"How'd she take it?" Ron asked.

"Bad," Harry said. He grimaced at the memory.

"She looked happy enough," Ron said.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"What'd you do?" Ron asked.

"What? Do you think that what worked on Ginny will work on Hermione?" Harry asked. "I think that you're smart enough to think of something."

"Maybe, but ideas wouldn't hurt," Ron said.

"You guys OK?" Ginny peeked her head in.

"We were just finishing up," Harry said.

Ron looked like he was going to protest, but then Hermione walked in.

"What do you want to do today?" Hermione asked.

"I want to spend all day with Harry," Ginny said as she put her arm around Harry. Ron made fake gagging noises. Ginny gave him a murderous glare.

"I like that idea," Harry said.

"Ron?" Hermione asked.

"I need to talk to you, Hermione," Ron said. His eyes didn't meet Hermione's, though.

"OK?" she asked. Harry knew what he wanted to talk about, but Hermione was confused. Ginny realized what he was going to tell her, and her face grew dark.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ginny said.

"Let's go," Ron said as he took her hand. Ron led Hermione outside, and by the looks of it, they were going to about the same place that Harry and Ginny had visited the previous night.

"Wonder how she'll take it," Ginny said.

"I don't know," Harry said.

"Anyway, what's the plan for today?" Ginny asked.

"Whatever you'd like," Harry said.

"I just want to be alone with you," Ginny said.

"You know you have to share me," Harry told her. Her face went into one of mock-sadness.

"What if I don't want to share you?" Ginny asked.

"Too bad," Harry said. "But I guess for today I'll be yours."

Ginny's face lit up.

"Well I _want _to go back to Luna's garden, but she might not want us there," Ginny said.

"Let's ask, and if she says no, we'll have to find other plans," Harry said.

"Great," Ginny said.

"I'll Floo her," Harry said.

Harry walked over to the fireplace while Ginny grabbed the Floo powder. Harry stuck his head into the fireplace.

"Hello?" Harry asked.

"Hello, Harry," Luna said in her dreamy voice.

"Hi, Luna. We – Ginny and I – were wondering if we could visit – er – your stream," Harry said.

"Why of course. I heard that you were leaving, I'm sorry to see you go," Luna said. How she knew when he had only told Ginny and Ron, Harry didn't know.

"Thanks. We'll see you in a few minutes?" Harry asked.

"Great. Are you going to Floo here?" Luna asked.

"Sure," Harry said.

Harry pulled his head out of the fire.

"Is it a yes?" Ginny asked.

"Yep. We're Flooing over there now. Are we going to leave a note?" Harry said.

"OK. I'll tell mum where we're going," Ginny said. Ginny grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and scribbled down where she and Harry were going.

"Let's go," Ginny said as she put down the quill.

Harry grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and pulled Ginny into the fireplace with him.

"The Lovegood's!" Harry shouted. They both disappeared into the fireplace. When they reappeared, they were in the Lovegood's family room.

"Hello, Ginny. How are you?" Luna asked.

"I'm great. Thanks for letting us come over," Ginny said.

"Yes. You're always welcome. Do you know how to get there?" Luna said.

"I think that we can find it," Harry said. "Thanks again."

"It's nothing," Luna said.

"Goodbye, Luna," Ginny said. "See you."

"Goodbye," Luna said.

Harry and Ginny walked in silence until they reached their destination.

"Now what?" Ginny asked.

"I've told you, whatever you want," Harry said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down on the ground.

"Hey!" Ginny laughed.

"What?" Harry asked innocently.

He pulled her into his arms and they both lay down on the flower bed. Ginny was perfectly content to lay silently with Harry, so did Harry. He played with her hair as she took in more of the landscape.

Harry was out of this world with Ginny, but he was pulled back to reality when he heard his stomach growling.

"Hungry?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe a little bit," Harry said.

"Do you want to eat?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Harry said.

Harry made a picnic basket of food and a blanket appear so that they could eat. After they ate all of the food, Harry and Ginny laid back down. They stayed in Luna's garden until Harry and Ginny felt hungry again, and they decided that it was time to return to the Burrow.

The weeks that lead up to September 1st went in a routine, wake up, eat breakfast, go away to a different hidden place alone, come back for dinner, go to bed.

Harry felt that September 1st came at speed that was all too fast.

Harry woke up on the morning of September 1st with a bad feeling in his gut. This would probably be the last day that he would be able to see Ginny until he graduated from Auror camp. He turned over in his bed to find that Ron was not in his bed. This was an unusual occurrence.

Harry got out of bed groggily, but he knew that the sooner he got up, the more time he would get to spend with Ginny. He was ready in record timing, and went to Ginny's room to check if she was there, and she wasn't.

Harry next went downstairs to the kitchen. Ginny was there. The morning wasn't nearly as hectic as in the previous years, because there were far less Weasley's that were leaving for Hogwarts, but it was still busy enough. Harry barley had enough time to eat a slice of toast before he was ushered outside to leave.

There was a Ministry car waiting outside for them to leave. _Of course they would send me a Ministry car,_ Harry thought.

The car looked rather small from the outside, but it was like Hermione's bag, it was enlarged on the inside.

George, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all fit comfortably in the back seat, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Charlie were in the front seat.

The ride to King's Cross was a short one, and Harry held Ginny's hand the entire way.

They made it to the station with twenty minutes to spare. Plenty of time for Harry to say farewell to Ginny.

They pushed their way to the brick column with difficulty, and had even more difficulty getting through the barrier without being noticed. They finally resorted in going in twosomes. Harry went with Ginny, Ron with Hermione, George with Charlie, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went together.

The inside of the barrier was less crowded than outside, but Harry would have rather been there than here. At least when he was outside the barrier, not too many people recognized him. But here, everybody knew who he was.

Not even a minute after Harry and Ginny got through, he was being swamped with Wizards. Harry had to work really hard to get the people to give him some space.

Ginny was standing a little ways away from her family with Harry. She and Harry stood in each other's arms, staring into each other's eyes. Then Harry bent down slightly and pressed his lips against hers.

They stayed embraced for what felt like forever. Harry didn't care who was watching, because right now, it was only him and Ginny. He picked her up off the ground and they were swaying in place. Only when the train whistle blew did they break apart.

Neither Harry nor Ginny realized until now that they both had tears trickling down their cheeks.

"It's not forever," Harry reminded her.

"I know, but its pretty close," she said.

"Be good," Harry said.

"When have I ever not been good?" Ginny asked in a hurt tone.

"I can think of a couple of times . . ." Harry said, but stopped when she hit him on the arm.

"Don't ruin the moment, Harry," she told him sternly.

"Whatever you say," Harry said.

Mrs. Weasley then came over to pry Ginny away from Harry. She kept scolding them about how she was going to miss the train, and that she had other people to say goodbye too. Harry took that as his cue to say goodbye to Hermione.

"'Bye Hermione," Harry said as he pulled her into a hug.

"I'll really miss you," she said. She, too, had tears in her eyes.

"Three years, only," Harry said.

"Yeah. It's not forever," she said.

"Take care of Ginny," Harry said.

"I will," she said.

"Get on, NOW!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"'Bye, Harry," Hermione said.

"Goodbye." Harry waved at her and then turned to find Ginny, only to see her getting on the train.

Harry's eyes waited for Ginny's head to appear in one of the windows.

Her flaming hair could be seen not even ten feet from where Harry was standing. Harry walked over to her and waved goodbye.

"I love you, Ginny," Harry said.

"I love you too," she said. She had tears coming down her face. Harry had never seen her cry openly.

Just as they finished their exchange, the scarlet train jolted into motion. As it pulled out of the station, Harry took in every last look of his girlfriend.

_Ginny's Point of View_

Ginny was walking through the halls uncomfortably. Everyone was staring at her and Hermione intently, as though they were about say something extremely important.

The girls had to walk a ways before they found a compartment that wasn't occupied with people who were drooling over them. The compartment that they settled on was occupied by Luna. Even though Luna was just as famous as Ginny was, nobody still wanted to sit with Luna, so the compartment was empty except for her.

"Hello Ginny, Hermione," Luna said as she looked up from her copy of the Quibbler.

"Hi Luna," Ginny said with fake cheer as she sat down next to her.

"Hello," Hermione said, taking her place on the opposite bench. "How was you summer?"

"Wonderful," Luna said as she turned her attention back to her magazine.

Hermione could tell that Luna was done talking for now.

The ride to Hogwarts was far from enjoyable. Every five minutes, someone would walk into their cabin and ask about Harry or what happened during his seventh year. Ginny spent the entire ride with her head either on the window or the seat. She didn't cry, but it felt as though the tears were threatening to spill at any time. Luna and Hermione took turns comforting her, but they were never as good as Harry. Only a few hours from Hogwarts, Ginny noticed an absence from their group other than Ron and Hermione.

"Where's Neville?" Ginny asked as she removed her head from the window.

"He's training to become an Auror with Ron and Harry," Luna said.

"What?" Ginny asked, devastated. It seemed like all of her friends were going off to become an Auror. "  
Oh."

"Yes, isn't that great," Luna said.

"I suppose," Ginny said. It was great that Neville was going to be an Auror, but she wished that the Auror training didn't take up so much time.

Ginny lay her head back down on the window and fell asleep dreaming of Harry.

_Harry's Point of View_

_Right after Ginny left_

Harry walked sullenly back to the Weasley's. They were all sad, but none as sad as Harry. He wouldn't be seeing her for another three years.

"Come, Harry. We need to be at the Ministry by one," Mr. Weasley said.

"OK," Harry said. He was more than ready to leave.

"See you for dinner," Mr. Weasley said.

"Goodbye Ron," Mrs. Weasley as she pulled him into a hug. "'Bye Harry," Mrs. Weasley said as she pulled Harry into her hug as well.

"'Bye mum," Ron said.

"Goodbye Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"We'll see you in three years," she said almost hysterically.

"It will fly by," Harry lied.

"You're probably right," she said as she dried her tears.

Harry and Ron took turns hugging each of the Weasleys before they went their separate ways. Mr. Weasley, Percy, Harry and Ron went around the building to Appartate to the Ministry.

They apparted to the workers entrance at the Ministry. Harry remembered when he was here with Ron and Hermione disguised as workers. Now he was here to become one.

The atrium was packed with workers all here to work. Harry wondered how many of them were here for the same reasons as he and Ron. Heads turned as Harry and Ron walked past. Harry and Ron had to push their way to the lifts because it was so crowded.

Once on the lifts, more eyes bored into the back of Harry's head, and this made Harry uncomfortable. It seemed as though the lift couldn't get to floor two fast enough.

"Come on, Harry," Ron said, pulling Harry from the elevator.

Harry made his way down a series of corridors and through doors until they reached a door marked 'AUROR TRANING.'

"I'll have to leave you here," Mr. Weasley said. "Think you can manage without me?"

"We'll get along OK," Ron said.

"Goodbye," Mr. Weasley said as he pulled each of them into a hug.

"See you," Harry said.

"'Bye, dad," Ron said.

"Good luck, you'll need it," Mr. Weasley said. The other two smiled.

Mr. Weasley walked down the corridor and rounded the corner, disappearing.

"Now or never, right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Ron looked scared out of his wits.

Harry opened the door to find a room with a dozen chairs, but only a few were filled.

Harry was shocked to find Neville Longbottom in one of the chairs, and Susan Bones in the other.

"Hey, guys. Didn't know that you were going to be Aurors," Harry said.

"Yeah, I didn't either," Neville said. "Got the letter in June."

"Same here," Susan said.

"Well, McGonagall said that she would help me become an Auror if it was the last thing she did, so . . ." Harry said.

"Why'd she say that?" Susan asked.

"Umbridge was saying that I would never be able to be an Auror, and I guess that she had reached her limit," Harry said. He remembered that day well.

"Wish I could've seen that," Ron said.

"Me too," Neville said.

The four of them spent the time catching up on each other's lives and the happenings of their towns. They had talked for a good ten minutes before the door opened again, and Kingsley and a tall, blonde man waked in.

"Hello, I am Lee Thompson. I will be your trainer for the next year and a half," said the man named Lee.

"And I think that you all know who I am," Kingsley said.

Everyone chuckled at Kingsley's bad humor.

"We are here to start Auror training," Lee said, "if it wasn't already obvious."

"Any questions before we begin orientation?" Kingsley asked.

"Why can't we see our family?" Neville asked. The same question had been eating on Harry's mind.

"Two reasons. One: the training's not here. And two: we need you to be used to being away from loved ones for long missions," Lee said.

"Oh," Neville said.

"Where will the training be?" Ron asked.

"Romania," Lee said.

_Romania?_ No wonder he was going to be separated from his family for so long.

"Why?" Susan asked.

"That's where the Auror training camp is," Kingsley said.

"Why not England?" Harry asked.

"There's only one camp for all of Europe," Lee said. "This will be your team. There will be some _healthy,_" Lee put an emphasis on healthy, "competition between you and the other countries. Are there any more questions?"

Everyone remained silent.

"Great. Let's go, then," Lee said.

Harry, Ron, Susan and Neville stood up to leave.

"How will we be getting there?" Ron asked.

"Oh, I won't be going with you, but you'll be riding brooms," Kingsley said.

Neville's face paled. He had never rode a broom outside of class, as far as Harry knew. Harry didn't know how he would make it to Romania without being able to fly a broom more than a couple of yards without landing.

"Ready?" Lee asked.

"Yep." Harry, unlike Neville, was very comfortable on a broom. It was his forte.

Harry knew that Ron was pretty good on a broom, but he didn't know about Susan. But judging by her expression, she would be fine.

The new Aurors walked down a series of new halls until they made it outside. Harry was blinded by the sun.

Lee walked into a shed and pulled out five Firebolts. Harry had a sudden longing for his old broom.

"Everybody take one," Lee ordered.

Harry reached the brooms first and grabbed the one that looked in the best shape.

Neville looked nervous when he straddled the broom for takeoff.

"Everybody ready?" Lee asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Then let's go."

Everyone took to the sky, headed for Romania.

_A/N: Hey! Shorter than my most recent post, but I like it! Please Rate and Review._


	15. Author's Note

Dear Readers,

I apologize greatly for the delay in posting. I am currently finishing my chapter and will be posting soon. Hopefully, there won't be any more delays of this length. Please don't give up on my story just yet!

Your Writer,

HuskerChick


	16. Mission 1

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

The trip from England to Romania was the longest broom ride that Harry had ever experienced. They would ride for hours at a time without stopping. The only times that they would break speed was when Neville would nearly slip off his broom. Harry was shocked at how well Neville was doing. He didn't fall off once, even though he would almost fall off every thirty minutes. He looked sort of sick from being so high up and even Harry had to admit that it was a little nerve racking how high up he was. Ron was also enjoying himself. He wasn't as comfortable on the broom as Harry, but he was doing twist and spins of joy. Susan looked exuberant. She had the biggest grin on her face.

The country side was beautiful, but Harry had little time to enjoy. They were speeding by so fast that everything looked like a green blur, and they well above the clouds. They would only swoop down every half-hour to check their location.

But even Harry had to admit that after a while, he was ready to get off of the broom. They had been on since two o'clock, and it was now seven, and Harry was starving. But when Ron mentioned being hungry as well, Lee declined them food.

"You need to be able to last for days without food!" he would say.

Ron let the subject drop, but Harry could tell that Ron still wanted to complain.

The Aurors-in-training stayed in the sky until the sun had just set. They landed behind an unmarked building.

When Ron got off of his broom, he immediately fell to the ground. Harry began to laugh, but then he too lost his balance and fell down. After Harry fell, Susan and Neville took to the ground. They were all laughing their heads off at their lack of balance. Lee jolted them back.

"Hey! You're drawing attention to us!" Lee barked.

Harry and the others silenced.

"That's better," Lee said.

"Where are we?" Susan asked as she surveyed the area.

"The Auror training headquarters," Lee said. Harry thought that the building in front of him looked a little small to be able to fit all of the Auror trainees, but then again, it was magic.

Lee collected their brooms and stowed them in the garbage can in front of the HQ.

Lee looked around to see if anyone else was there, then he took out his wand and pointed it at the doorknob. He must have done a non-verbal spell, because then the wand's tip glowed orange. He put his wand back in his pocket and turned the handle. The door creaked open noisily, and Lee winced. He held the door open for Harry, Ron, Susan and Neville. Once they were safely inside, he closed the door tightly behind them and used another silent incantation to lock it behind them. Harry had a funny feeling that _Alohomora _wouldn't unlock this door.

The room was dark, and sort of reminded Harry of 12, Grimmauld Place. There was a large Mahogany table that was equipped to seat thirty, but only a dozen or so of the seats were filled. Lee led the four to the seats closest to the door. Harry sat down in between Neville and Ron. The only person that Harry recognized was Hestia Jones. It felt good to see at least one familiar face here. But it also made a longing people like Tonks and the other Aurors who were now dead.

The man at the head of the table stood up once Lee had sat down.

"Hello. I am Daniel Westwood," he said. "I am your Head Auror."

"We are going to welcome England's new Aurors, Ron Weasley," Daniel said as he gestured in Ron's direction, "Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter."

Heads turned when Harry's name was mentioned, and Harry wished that they had stayed where they were.

The others returned to whatever they were doing previously, until another set of

new Aurors walked in. They were introduced as France's Aurors. Then Poland's and then Germany's, Bulgaria's and Ireland's team of Aurors came. Harry looked around the table to take in the new faces. There were more young faces that were there when Harry walked in, so he guessed that they were other countries.

Daniel called order to the group.

"Now that everyone is here," he started. The voices died down. "We will be assigning your locations to your teams. You will be with one other team."

Everyone looked around, trying to find out which team would be best to be partnered with. Harry noticed that many eyes stopped on Harry and his team. This made Harry uncomfortable.

"OK, Germany's with Portugal," said the woman at Daniel's right hand. "Ireland's with Spain, Poland's with Sweden, Norway and Romania, France and Greece, England with Italy." Harry looked for the people from Italy, and spotted them near the front of the table. They were a group of serious-looking men that looked about twenty-five.

"You won't be able to get together with your partnering teams yet," Daniel said. Neville looked grateful for that. From what Harry could tell, Neville was intimidated by their group. Not that Harry could blame him, though. One of them did look something like a thinner version of Dudley.

"First, we will be doing private assessments on your physical and magical abilities," a man that was four seats away from Harry said. "Up first, is Sweden. Follow me." He led them to a door near the back of the room. After he pointed his wand at the door to unlock it, they filed inside. Harry craned his neck to see inside, but was unable to.

After twenty uncomfortable minutes, Greece was called in for the test. Then Spain, Germany, Portugal, Romania and Poland were called in. Harry watched anxiously as the room slowly emptied of its young Aurors.

After being trapped in the dark room for two hours, the man walked back into the room and called, "England."

_Ginny's Point of View_

Hogwarts had repaired itself extremely quickly. It had fixed up three fourths of the castle in only three months.

Ginny was determined to make this year her most normal year yet, but after only three days into the first term, she knew that that would never happen.

Everyone would gawk at her, and Hermione especially, though nobody seemed to stop and stare for too long at Luna. But many were solemn from their losses.

The Great Hall was treated differently, too. The spot where Voldemort had fallen was avoided at all cost. Even though the Ravenclaw table now covered it, the students refused to sit there, creating a three foot radius all around it.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes were now banned by Filtch, because too many people were setting them off 'as a memorial to Fred.' Ginny thought that using that as a cover-up was tasteless and rude. So she made sure that whoever chose to use it would learn her lesson. Luckily for her, none of the teachers ever stopped her. She thought that it was because they, too, thought it was a stupid joke.

Many of the teachers had to be replaced. There was need for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Muggle Studies teacher, because the Carrows were now in Azkaban. They also needed a new Transfiguration teacher because McGonagall had now taken the position of Headmistress.

Ginny was extremely worried about Harry. She could only think the worst about what might happen to him. She could just wake up one day and find him dead, and she had to focus on her studies.

Life was just too complicated.

_Harry's Point of View_

Auror Training was beating the crap out of Harry. Day after day, he would wake up well before sunrise to begin the book lessons with the rest of England's Auror-Trainees. Then he would take a short break for lunch before joining up with Italy's students for the practical lesson. Each day would pose new test and challenges for Harry's team, and Harry was starting to question whether or not he was truly ready for whatever they would throw at him next.

Every night at 11:30, they would all stagger into the dorm rooms ready to pass out. But Harry would lie awake until the very early morning thinking of Ginny. The same questions would always go through his head every night. _Was she OK? Was she thinking of me right now? Is she doing good in her studies, _and the one question that would always drive him do despair, _Does she still love me?_

Harry didn't have a good sense of time passing, because there was a no calendar rule at the Training Center.

After what Harry thought was about 8 months, they got their first assignment.

Lee called them to order in England's common room.

"Today is your lucky day," Lee said, "because you are receiving your first mission."

Harry and the others exchanged glances that were a cross between nervous and excited. They hadn't left the training campus since the day that they arrived, and Harry was anxious to see the outside world.

"Where's the mission?" Susan asked.

"Somewhere very familiar," Lee said with a smile.

"Diagon Alley!" Neville said.

"No," Lee said. "Guess again."

"The Ministry of Magic?" Harry guessed.

"St. Mungo's?" Ron said.

"Neither," Lee said. "Any last guesses before I tell?"

Everyone stayed silent because they wanted to hear their secret location.

"Hogwarts." Everyone stayed silent with shock. On the inside, Harry was exuberant. He would get to leave the camp and get to see Ginny. When Harry looked over at Ron, he could tell that he was thinking along the same lines as Harry.

"Crabble and Goyle have presumably avoided our Death Eater captures and are now lurking on the Hogwarts Grounds," Lee said. Harry and Ron looked paler. _Had anything happened to Ginny? _Lee answered Harry's question for him. "They haven't done any damage, but we have to act quickly."

"Then why don't we leave now?" Ron asked. He was most likely annoyed that they were leaving Ginny and Hermione in danger longer than necessary.

"We have a few items to put in order before we leave," Lee said calmly. "Get some sleep, we leave at dawn."

Everyone stood up and began to go back to their dorms.

"D'you think they're OK?" Ron asked as he slid into bed.

"You heard what Lee said. There's been no damage," Neville said.

"Yet," Ron pointed out.

"Let's just hope for the best," Harry said.

"Yeah. Ginny and Hermione can fend for themselves," Ron said, though he didn't sound so sure.

"Your right," Harry said but he still felt uncertainty.

"'Night," Neville said. Both Harry and Ron responded with a half-hearted goodnight.

Harry fell asleep with shifty dreams about what was to come.

_Ginny's Point of View_

_Earlier that Day_

Ginny was walking down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower with Luna after Astronomy class. The cool April breeze was drifting through the open windows. They were the last to leave the class.

They made their way down the stairs. Luna insisted that they count the steps that it took to make it up there by listening to their feet echo, so all was silent.

So far, they had counted 74 steps. Ginny wasn't concentrating very hard, though. She looked over at Luna and noticed her face crinkle up in thought.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"Listen," Luna said as she made the shush motion. Ginny held her breath as she listened. Luna held her arm out, causing Ginny to stop. When the girl's footsteps stopped echoing, there was still one pair of feet echoing behind them. Both girl's eyes widened.

"Maybe it's just another student," Luna said.

"But we were the last ones," Ginny said. Both girls slowly turned around, afraid of what they might see.

"_Supfrey!_" Ginny heard someone yell before everything blacked out.

_A/N: OMG! I'm sooooooooo sorry for the hugggggge delay. I just wasn't feeling it anymore, but recently I was beginning to feel it again. I will be picking up my story once again. Please continue reading!_


	17. Back to School and much much worse!

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. _

Harry didn't know what to think. He was extremely excited to be seeing Ginny and Hermione, but then again, he was there for a reason. He would have to get two Death Eaters. Harry had taken on Voldemort himself without training, but taking on two of his flunkies after training still made Harry second guess himself.

After a very sleepless night, Lee sounded the alarm for them to wake up.

Everyone was up without delay, which proved that they, too, had a sleepless night.

Everyone assembled in the common room five minutes later. Lee walked in moments later.

"Are we ready?" he asked.

"How are we getting there?" Susan asked.

"Well, broomstick would be too slow, and the Floo Network is not safe, so that leaves Appartation," Lee said. Harry was questioning that, because his Appartation skills weren't very good. Hermione had done all of the Apparting whilst in hiding.

"This way," Lee said, pointing down the hall. Harry walked down the hall towards the Appartation point.

Lee muttered a spell under his breath that Harry couldn't hear and the door's locks click open. Lee pushed the door open to reveal a room furnished with the same dark furniture as the other rooms in the training center.

"The Appartation room," Lee announced. "Go to the Forbidden Forest, and we'll meet up there," Lee said before turning and disappearing.

"Here goes nothing," Susan said. Then she disappeared as well.

Neville scrunched up his nose and vanished.

Harry waved at Ron before he disappeared. Harry was the last one to Appartate. He concentrated very hard on the Forbidden Forest and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by sinister trees. And he was all in one piece, so he considered Apparting a success.

"Harry!" he heard someone yell.

"I'm over here!" Harry yelled back.

He turned and saw Ron, Neville, Susan and Lee emerge from the trees.

"Looks like you guys didn't get splinched," Lee said.

"Now where too?" Harry asked. He was anxious about seeing Ginny.

"We have to speak with Headmistress McGonagall. Then we work from there," Lee said.

Lee began walking forward, and everyone else followed in tow. They walked for thirty minutes before they emerged on the outskirts of the castle grounds.

"Why couldn't we have Apparted closer to the castle?" Susan panted. Harry smiled because if Hermione were here, she would be saying, '_You can't Appartate on Hogwarts grounds, it says so in _Hogwarts, A History.'

"You can't Appartate directly onto the Hogwarts grounds. We had to Appartate outside of the boundaries," Lee explained.

Harry and the others trudged from the far end of the forest to one of the back of the castle. Lee said something that Harry couldn't hear and the mahogany door opened.

"Step lively," Lee said as he ushered everyone inside.

Once everyone was in, Lee closed the door behind them and Harry heard the locks click.

Everyone stepped aside for Lee to walk in front. This was a part of the castle that Harry was unfamiliar with this part of the castle.

Harry rounded the corner and saw the familiar gargoyle that marked the Headmistresses office.

"Kings Cross," Lee said. The gargoyle sprung to life as the stairs opened up to the office. Lee walked up the stairs with the others following.

"Hello," Headmistress McGonagall said. "Have a seat."

Everyone took one of the seats in front of the desk.

"I can assume you all are aware of the situation?" she asked.

"They are," Lee said.

"Well then, the first idem at business is to find the missing students," McGonagall said.

"Missing students?" Lee said. His mouth was gaping. "We weren't aware that there were any students missing."

"We did report them, but they said that you had already left," McGonagall explained.

Harry was shocked. Who could have gone missing?

"Well who is it?" Lee demanded.

"Miss Luna Lovegood and Miss Ginny Weasley." Harry felt like he couldn't breathe. How could this have happened? The war was supposed to be over, yet things like this were still happening. "They were last seen in the Astronomy tower. We can only assume that Crabble and Goyle took them."

Harry was speechless.

"Now Harry," McGonagall said, turning to him, "I have heard that you have a resource that could be very useful in this situation." Of course. The Marauders Map. If Ginny and Luna were anywhere on the castle grounds, he would be able to tell.

Harry reached into his pocket, still unable to talk, and pulled out the map. Harry swallowed and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," and the map came to life.

With everyone looking over his shoulder, he studied the map for any signs of Ginny or Luna. He studied floor after floor, classroom after classroom, and there was no sign of either the girls or Crabble and Goyle. He then moved on to the grounds. After searching the obvious places, he checked the Forbidden Forest. He didn't see anything else there.

"Maybe their in a room that's not on the map, like the Room of Requirement?" Susan asked.

"We have someone in there at all times to make sure that they don't go in there," McGonagall said.

Harry racked his brain for any other places that they might be. The only places that there were that weren't on the map were the Room of Requirement, and the Chamber of Secrets. Oh no. If Ron and Hermione could get into the Chamber of Secrets and not have to be a parselmouth, who says that other people couldn't have done it again?

"I think I know where they are," Harry said.

"Where?" everyone said together.

"C'mon. We need to go and talk to Moaning Myrtle," Harry said.

"Let's go," Lee said.

Everyone ran through the corridors, following Harry to Myrtle's bathroom.

"Myrtle!" Harry yelled when they arrived at the bathroom.

"Is that you, Harry?" Myrtle called from her stall.

"Myrtle, have you seen anything odd lately?" Harry asked. He didn't know if he wanted her to say yes or no. Yes would mean that the mystery concerning where they were would be solved, but it would also mean that they were trapped in the Chamber of Secrets. No would mean that they weren't stuck in the Chamber of Secrets, but were instead somewhere else that he and the others would have to find.

"Well," Myrtle said, "Someone did come in here that I haven't seen before."

"And what did they do?" Harry pressed.

"The tall one said something in a language I didn't know," Myrtle said.

"And then?" Ron asked. He had figured out what this meant, too.

"He disappeared. He was standing right over there," she said as she pointed at the sink. That pretty much ruled out any other options. That defiantly proved that they were in the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry darted over to the sink.

"Myrtle, tell Headmistress McGonagall to not let anybody on the second floor," Harry ordered.

"OK," Myrtle said before she drifted into the wall.

Harry walked over to the sink with the snake by the faucet. He concentrated very hard on believing that the snake there was real, and commanded it to open.

Harry stepped back as the sink separated to reveal the Chamber.

"How are we going to get out?" Neville asked. He looked like he was about to pass out.

"I guess we'll decide that later," Harry said.

"Who's going in first?" Ron asked.

"How about we all go in together?" Susan asked.

"OK. On the count of three," Harry said. Everyone crowded around the hole.

"One," Ron said.

"Two," Susan said.

"Three," Harry said. Everyone jumped in.

Harry slid down the hole. He didn't like being here. The last time he was down here, he was rescuing Ginny and fighting the basilisk.

Everyone hit the floor shortly after Harry had.

"Whoa," Susan said. Things didn't look much different over the years.

"This way," Harry said. Harry could tell that someone else had been down here recently. The rock cave in was no longer there and the ground was worn down from frequent walking on it.

Harry walked through the tunnels that he hadn't been in for years.

All too soon, Harry and the others arrived in the chamber.

"Wha-What's that?" Neville asked, pointing to the basilisk corpse.

"The basilisk," Ron said.

"Now what?" Susan asked. She had her wand at the ready, as did the others.

Before Harry had the chance to answer, he saw the all-too-familiar green flash of light go straight at Susan.

"Susan!" Harry yelled. He dove and pushed her out of the way. They hit the floor with a thump.

Now everyone was alert.

"Who did that?" Ron asked.

"I have a couple guesses," Harry said.

Everyone's heads jerked to the Slytherin statue when they heard laughter.

"Bravo," Goyle said. When he appeared from behind the statue, everyone tensed. "Great job on finding us."

"But unfortunately," Crabble walked out from behind a snake statue that Harry could've sworn wasn't there the last time. "We can't let you leave."

"When we don't come back out, people will notice," Neville said. His wand was shaking in his hand.

"Who says they'll be able to get down here?" Crabble said. "The entrance is already sealed off."

Things weren't going well. There was still no sign of Ginny or Luna, and even if they did find them, how would get out?

"Where are they?" Leave it to Neville to go right out and ask them.

"Who?" Goyle asked, pretending to be clueless.

"I think they mean our two little hostages!" Crabble said with mock realization.

"What have you done with them?" Ron yelled.

"Don't worry your little heads," Crabble said, "you'll be with them soon enough."

Harry guessed that he was only trying to get into their heads, and that it _probably _wasn't true, but it was still unnerving to think like that.

Harry let his eyes wander over to Ron's, and he was just as scared as Harry was for Ginny and Luna. Ron's eyes met Harry. Harry's eyes jerked down towards his wand. Ron nodded. He made a similar motion for Neville and Susan. So now they were all in on the plan.

"You and me both know that you can't win," Susan said.

"You know, good does not always trump evil," Goyle said.

"We know that," Susan said.

Then everything seemed to go on fast-forward.

Ron and Susan screamed various stunning spells and body-binding spells. Crabble and Goyle dodged every one. Neville tried to get in on their blind spot, but they were always one step ahead of them. Harry was circling around dodging and reflecting spells while trying to find anywhere that Ginny and Luna could fit. From what he could tell, there was no possible hiding places other than where Crabble and Goyle came out from, and they were heavily guarding that place. There was no easy way to get past them without having disabled them before-hand.

Harry dashed over to where the others were fighting.

"There's no way to get past them without them seeing me," Harry told Ron in a low voice so the enemy couldn't hear them.

"How thick are you?" Ron asked. Then Harry realized, _they don't have to see me._

"Cover for me," Harry said as he ducked behind Ron.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the Invisibility Cloak. He whipped it around his body before the others could see him. With a quick check to be sure that he wasn't showing anywhere, he darted to the side to avoid the flying spells.

He walked sideways all the way to the statue, being extra quiet not to draw attention to this invisible body.

Harry finally made it to the statue. He breathed a sigh of relief. If Ginny was anywhere down here, this would be the place.

Harry hadn't been back here before, so he was guessing where to go in the dark.

"Ginny?" Harry called softly. "Luna? Are you in here?"

"Harry?" Harry turned towards where he heard the voice. It sounded like Luna's.

"Luna," Harry sighed in relief. "Where are you?" he said a bit more cautiously, suddenly aware that he might be busted at any moment.

"Over here," she said.

Harry walked over to where Luna was. When he looked closer, he noticed that she was tied up. Then he noticed something else,

"Where's Ginny?"

"I don't know, really," Luna said.

"What happened to you guys?" Harry asked as he began to untie her.

"Well, we were attacked at the Astronomy Tower, and we got stunned. When we woke up in the second floor bathroom, Ginny began to freak out." Poor Ginny. "We didn't get much time to talk, though, because they stunned us again. When I woke up, Ginny was gone, and I was here."

"And you don't know where she is now?" Even though they were just ropes, they were not responding to any of the spells that Harry tried, so he resorted to using his hands. It took more time than it would have to use a wand, but all spells were void on the ropes. Harry eventually untied Luna.

"Get under." Harry pulled the cloak over his head and then opened it up for Luna to get under. Luna shuffled underneath.

"Now where too?" Luna asked politely.

"We help the others," Harry said. The walked extra-quietly out from behind the statue. What they saw wasn't pretty.

Susan was on the floor in a pool of blood, and he stomach was cut deeply. Neville was trying to attend to Susan and deflect spells at the same time. Ron was single-handedly trying to keep Crabble and Goyle at bay.

"Harry?" Harry hadn't realized that he had spaced out.

"Yeah?" He said.

"What now?"

"Stun them from behind when I yell now," Harry said. They began to creep up behind the others.

"Three," Harry said. "Two, One, NOW!"

Harry and Luna pulled off the cloak. Both he and Luna shouted stunning spells before either Crabble or Goyle could respond. Goyle got hit square in the chest with one of the spells, but the other one hit Neville on accident.

They began to circle around each other. Crabble was in the middle, trying to keep his eyes on both Harry and Luna. Ron went to help Susan.

Crabble shot stunning spells left and right, but all missed. Then he shot the killing curse. It almost hit Harry, but he dove out of the way just in time. It instead hit the snake statue that Harry found odd. But instead of bursting into flames, it exploded. Harry took the distraction as an opportunity to stun Crabble. So did Luna. Crabble was hit on the chest and back with two stunner spells.

Harry noticed something else. During the explosion of the snake statue, he saw something other than bits of stone flying. He saw a flash of red hair. Ginny.

Harry acted quickly. He dove over to catch Ginny before she hit the ground. He caught her just in time. She was tied up just like Luna was, but she was unconscious. He caught her and slid on the floor. He gingerly pulled her into his lap.

"Ginny, oh Ginny," Harry said. He began to unknot her ropes. "Wake up, please."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief when she began to stir.

"Ginny?" Ron asked as he knelt down next to her. She didn't show any signs of having heard Ron. Luna walked over to Susan who was still bleeding. Neville took the ropes that had previously held Luna and Ginny and tied them around Crabble and Goyle, but not before removing their wands from their possession. Neville then snapped their wands without a second glance.

"Let's get out of here," Ron said.

"C'mon," Harry said.

Harry gently picked up Ginny and held her closely. Ron then picked up Susan, careful not to touch the blood-soaked bandages. Neville and Luna both dragged Crabble and Goyle.

"Can you find your way out?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, this way." Harry took the lead and walked towards the exit. "Oh, no."

"What, 'oh, no'?" Ron asked. "Oh." Ron looked up at where the hole should have been, but was instead a giant block of cement.

"Maybe we can just explode it?" Neville asked.

"Something tells me that it won't give that easily," Harry said, "but I guess we can try."

Harry laid Ginny down extremely cautiously, as did Ron and Neville. Luna stayed by the others as Ron, Harry and Neville drew their wands. They all yelled any spells that might do the trick, but all failed.

Harry sat down in defeat. He picked up Ginny and pulled her into his arms and began to stroke her hair.

"We can't stay down here much longer. Susan'll need medical help and we don't know if they did anything to Luna and Ginny," Ron said.

"Let's first see what we can do for Susan," Harry said. They walked back to the chamber.

Neville slowly removed Susan's bandages, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The cut was very deep and showed no sign of having the bleeding stop.

"Does anyone know a healing spell?" Neville asked.

No one said anything.

"Then we'll have to do this the muggle way," Neville said. Luna took off her robe and handed it to Neville for him to use as a bandage. He wrapped it tightly around the wound and tied it for pressure.

"She's looking paler," Ron said worriedly. Harry knew that meant that she was loosing blood. Neville ripped off a piece of his own robe and wetted it down in the water. He knelt down next to Susan and laid the cloth on her forehead.

Neville soothed Susan with encouraging words. Everyone turned in her direction when she moaned.

"Susan?" Luna asked.

"Wha?" Susan said. "Whe-Where are Crabb an Gole?"

"It's OK," Neville said. He put the damp cloth on her cheeks. "They're not gonna hurt us anymore."

"It hurts," Susan moaned.

"Shhh," Neville said. "Just rest."

Susan's breathing sounded pained and labored, but eventually her breathing slowed to a rate that meant that she had fallen to sleep.

Harry sat down and cradled Ginny. He didn't know when, but eventually he fell to sleep holding Ginny.

When he woke up, everyone else was asleep as well.

Susan looked paler than before, and Neville was sleeping next to her. Ron was leaning against the wall near Crabble and Goyle, and it looked like he was supposed to be watching for them to wake, but fell asleep. Luna was lying down on the other side of Susan. Ginny was still out cold.

Harry sat up. Ginny began to stir.

"Ginny?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Huh?" Ginny asked groggily.

"Oh, Ginny." Harry pulled Ginny into a hug. "I was so worried about you."

"Harry," Ginny was suddenly very much awake.

"Are you OK?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine," Ginny said.

They both stared into each other's eyes silently before Harry leaned in and kissed her on the lips. They both chose to deepen the kiss. Soon Ginny had her hands tangled in Harry's hair and his hands were pulling her closer.

They only broke apart when they needed air. Harry lay down on the ground and pulled Ginny in with him.

He went to sleep holding Ginny tightly in his arms.

_A/N: Chapter 16! Wow, I've come along way in only a few months. Thank you to those of you who have continued to read my story, despite the long wait. Posting will be soon! And don't forget to Rate and Review. Keep in mind, the more reviews that there are, the sooner the next chapter will be posted! Chao for now!_


	18. Harry the Healer

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. __J_

Harry was awakened in what he assumed was mid morning. Ginny was snuggled in Harry's arms. He laid Ginny down and sat up.

Harry looked to see who had woken him. Neville had.

"What's the problem?" Harry asked worriedly.

"It's Susan," Neville said.

Harry looked over at Susan. Her face was white and beaded with cold sweat. Her breathing was short and raspy. Harry rushed over to her side.

No one else was awake yet, though.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, even though he already knew the answer. Susan was loosing too much blood.

"Well, if we don't get her any medical help, and soon, she might die," Neville said gravely.

Harry knew the answer already, but it still came as a shock when Neville said it.

"What else is there that we can do?" Harry asked. "And why aren't the others awake?" he added.

"What could four or five people do that two already couldn't?" Neville pointed out. He had a point.

"Isn't there a spell we can do?" Harry asked.

"None that I know of."

Harry stopped talking so he could think, but he got distracted by Susan. She looked so helpless and sick laying there. Now her breathes were spaced out more. She would breathe, and then it would be five or more seconds before she took another difficult breath. He saw her hand twitching and reached down and took it in his own. He could still feel it twitching in his own.

Harry stole a glance over at Ginny. She looked very peaceful, sleeping. He thought back to their first kiss. He remembered the night clearly. That was the day that he had to hide his potions book from Snape.

Then he remembered. Why he had to hide the book.

He had done one of the spells in it, and it had caused Malfoy to bleed non-stop, similar to what Susan was doing now. Snape had come in and said a spell that had caused all of the blood to go back into the wound and then seal it up.

"I, I know a spell!" Harry said excitedly.

"You do?" Neville said it a little too loudly. Everyone else woke up from the noise.

"You do what?" Ginny asked groggily.

"Who? What?" Ron asked, bringing his wand up in defense.

Susan seemed to wake from the commotion.

"Can't," she heaved, "breathe."

Everyone rushed over to her side.

"Do you know how to help her?" Luna asked.

"I think so," Harry said. "Remember the night that-" he stopped, then changed his mind on what he was going to say, "-that we won the Quidditch Cup in sixth year?"

"What about it?" Ron asked. He knew that the reference could have been to the night that Harry and Ginny shared their first kiss.

"Earlier that day, I used that one spell on Draco that caused him to bleed, and then Snape came in and said a spell that caused the wound to heal," Harry said. He paused for them to get the picture. Looks of realization fell across their faces one by one.

"Well, Do you remember what spell he used?" Ginny asked.

"I think so." Harry concentrated very hard to make sure that he got it right. "_Vulnera Sanentur,_" Harry said with his wand at Susan's wound. The blood began to flow back into the wound.

"It's working!" Neville said excitedly.

Harry repeated the spell again, and you could see the wound stitch back together as if it was sewed together by string.

Everyone was staring with amazement.

"Now what?" Ginny asked.

Harry didn't respond, but instead repeated the spell for a third time. All signs of the stitching vanished until there was only a small scar left.

"Oh," Ginny said.

"My," said Ron.

"Gosh," Neville finished. "How did you do that?"

"Just a spell," Harry said. Even he was amazed by the power of the spell. He hadn't stuck around last time to see the outcome, so he didn't know that it would work this well.

"But it was amazing," Ginny said.

"Look!" Luna pointed to Susan. She was stirring.

"Susan?" Ron asked.

"I. Can. Breath again," Susan marveled. She sat up slowly, and she was probably still in pain. "How? I thought that I was," she paused to regain her breath, "gonna die."

"We did too," Harry said.

"Then what" she paused, "happened?"

"Harry healed you with some spell," Neville said.

"Thank you so much!" Susan threw her arms around Harry.

Even though Harry had just saved her life, Ginny still couldn't help feeling revolted. Susan met her eyes, and then let go of Harry after seeing how Ginny was glaring at her.

"As long as you're fine," Harry said.

Ginny crawled over and sat down next to Harry. He pulled her into his lap. Ginny rested her head on his shoulder. Harry kissed her forehead. Ginny looked over at Susan one last time.

"Now that problem's fixed," Ginny said, "how do we get out?"

"Does anybody have any ideas?" Harry asked.

Ron opened his mouth, but he was silenced by the growling noise that came from his stomach.

"Are you hungry?" Luna asked Ron. Ron just looked at her.

"What do we have for food?" Ron asked.

"Well, nothing," Harry asked.

"We have to get out of here," Neville said.

"We figured that much already," Susan said. She looked at her stomach and felt where the scar was. She didn't even flinch when she touched it.

"How about we go look for another way out?" Ginny asked.

"'Kay," Luna said. "Should we split up?"

"How about we do three and three?" Ron asked.

"Sounds good," Harry said. "Me, Ginny and Neville go that way," Harry pointed to the tunnel behind the statue. "Ron, Luna and Susan can go the way we came."

"If you find anything, send red sparks," Neville said.

"Let's go," Harry said.

Harry, Ginny and Neville watched the others disappear into the shadows before they walked cautiously behind the statue.

_A/N: Sorry that it took so long for such a short chapter. I've been 'camping' at the dunes. I just got back today. Rate and Review!_


	19. Exit Up the Stairs

_Disclaimer: any of the characters that you recognize as the work of J.K. Rowling, I don't own. but I think that you will be able to recognize my characters. __J_

"Now which way?" Ginny asked. They had been walking for 10 minutes, and were now staring at a fork in the road.

"I don't know," Luna said. "But this should help." Luna shot a ball of fire down the path to the right. "That way holds to a dead end." She shot the ball down the path to the left, next. That path revealed a set of stairs.

"Almost too easy," Harry murmured quietly. "Let's send up the sparks for the others."

The sparks flew from his wand, and within 5 minutes, the others had joined them.

"Well?" Ron asked. His breathing was heavy, as if he had ran the entire way here. It was likely that he did.

Ginny gestured her wand. "Stairs."

"How come we didn't use the stairs last time?" Ron asked.

"I like to think of it as our grand exit," Harry said jokingly.

"Ha ha," Neville said, "but can we please get out of here?"

"Wands out," Harry said. "In case it's a trap."

Everyone's wands were already out. Harry went first, followed by Ron and Neville carrying Crabble and Goyle.

When Harry and the others reached the stairs, he hesitantly put one foot on the first step.

"Doesn't look like a trap," Ron said.

Harry walked up the stairs one at a time. He made it to the top first. Ron and Neville followed with the baggage. Ginny, Susan and Luna made it up last.

Harry opened the door to reveal the same room that Nick's Death Day party was held. Harry must not have noticed it before.

"We're out!" Ron yelled.

"Let's go find Lee," Harry said.

He hadn't felt this happy in months. He was with Ginny and all of his friends, they were all safe, and back at Hogwarts. Everything was perfect.

**THE END**


	20. Ta Ta for Now!

Dear Readers,

I have finally reached the conclusion to **WHEN THE WAR IS OVER**. I really do hope that you had enjoyed my story. I am not done with Fanfiction just yet. I will be doing other stories as well. Please read them! (Only if you have seen or read what it is based off of, of course!) I love all of you who have come back week after week to read my postings, even though they have been infrequent. Special thanks to Friend of Molly, who has provided help and encouragement for me through her reviews for every chapter. I will (sort of) miss this story, because it was my debuting story. I got my start through this story, so it will always have a special place in my in my heart. Thank you again to everyone who had reviewed or visited my story until the very end. I am looking forward to seeing you guys again in my next stories!

Love Always,

HuskerChick


	21. SOME PEOPLE ARE SO RUDE!

Some people are so rude! I put a lot of effort into this story, and you guys just put me down! Yes, I know that it had a crappy ending! Every person who reads it doesn't have to tell me that! I was getting bored with the plot line, and didn't want to discontinue it, so I just finished it up quick and painless! One day I might actually continue this story, so hell to the ending!

Isn't Feeling the Love,

HuskerChick


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